Book 26 - The Famous Final Scene
by GailDunn2
Summary: WARNING: Violence and adult content. The ultimate confrontation with Lucifer is imminent, but it will exact an expensive price. The God Squad is coming apart, and battle lines will be drawn, both in Heaven, and on Earth. Some lives will be lost, while others' will be changed forever.
1. The Farewell Tour

Chapter 1 - The Farewell Tour

Dean woke up hung over on the day before his death. His stomach was queasy, and his head was pounding. He sure couldn't drink like he used to, he thought. Then again, he thought wryly, after today, that fact would cease to matter.

Despite the situation, he'd had a good time last night. Just the immediate family, knocking back a few, telling war stories, both old and new. They'd laughed a lot, and they'd even cried a little. But mostly, they had laughed. He and Sammy had reached way down into the vault for some of the more classic stories. Some of them, even Bobby hadn't heard before. Jody had been aware of some of the shenanigans that the boys and Bobby had gotten up to in the past, but there had been other things they'd been reluctant to share at the time, because she was a cop. Then Cas had been the next one to enter their circle, and that event had opened the door to an additional multitude of funny stories. Gail and Frank had laughed until their stomachs hurt. Dean and Sam had kept it light, and the others had followed their lead. Even when it came to reminisces they shared in common with Frank and Gail, the brother and sister avoided the darker moments they'd all shared, focusing on the humorous aspects, instead. They'd all had far more drinks than they'd planned on, and they had stayed up very late.

Dean swung his legs off the bed and yawned, running his fingers through his hair. If this had been a normal day, he would have just rolled over and slept for a few more hours. But he was scheduled to die tomorrow morning, and there were a number of things he wanted to do today.

It was funny, though. A few years ago, when he and Sam and Gail had all died in the explosion in Crowley's den, God had given them all a day during which they could do anything they wanted. Whatever they wanted. In some ways, today reminded him of that day, although this time, he would be subject to the limitations of being human. But that was OK. His bucket list was a lot shorter this time. He had matured a great deal since then, and Dean had his priorities straight now. It was a good thing, too; this time, he felt like he had a pretty good shot at Heaven. And he was at peace with that. In fact, he was almost looking forward to it. Although many Angels were still dicks in Dean's view, many others were not, he'd discovered. He was OK with the idea of ascending to Heaven now. Some of their extended family were already there, and Cas and Gail popped in and out of Heaven all the time. Last night, they had all talked about the fact that there would have to be an election in Heaven once Lucifer was gone. In the spirit of lightheartedness, the jokes had started to fly about who the next God would be. Both Cas and Gail would be excellent candidates, they had all agreed. Dean had teased Gail about the possibility of her being the first female God. He'd seen her temper, he'd said; hopefully, she wouldn't cause a great flood on Earth if they cancelled her favourite TV show, or something. She'd pointed out to him that it had actually been her husband who'd caused the original flood, and they had all laughed, remembering that story. Then Frank had piped up that if she did smite the human race, if there were any survivors, they would ask her why. But because she was a woman, she would probably say, "Well, if you don't already know, I'm not going to tell you." Then all the men had laughed, even Cas. But he had turned his laugh into a cough when she had glared at him. And that had made the men laugh even harder.

But that whole thing had made Dean start to think. He'd already pretty much made peace with the fact that he was going to have to die in order to rid the Earth of Lucifer. The Angels could do all the research they wanted, but as far as Dean was concerned, it was a foregone conclusion. This wasn't his first rodeo. And just the fact that Sammy was sitting around drinking with them instead of busting his ass hitting the books had spoken volumes to Dean. That alone had pretty much told him all he needed to know about his chances of getting out of this thing alive. If Sammy thought there was even a sliver of a chance, he would have pulled an all-nighter. Nope. If Sam had given up, then that meant that Dean was toast.

He rose and put a T-shirt on, looking around for his slippers. He'd kicked them off last night and they'd gone flying. So, shortly after dawn tomorrow, Dean would be dead. And then what? Ideally, he'd go up to the Garden to wait his turn. Cas had promised that they would make sure to make the election their next priority, so Dean shouldn't have to wait too long until the next God, whoever that would be, collected him from the Garden. Dean had grinned at that. It was gonna be Cas; he was sure of it. No disrespect to Gail, but Cas was the logical choice. He would have to be. He was going to be the hero, the one who had gotten Lucifer back in the cage. Who else could possibly give him a run for his money? If Bobby had still been an Angel and they could have persuaded him to run, it would probably be a much closer race. But as things currently stood, Dean's best friend was going to be God, soon. And that meant that Dean could make the best out of a bad situation. He would just get Cas to assign him to Earth duty, and he'd be back here in his own bed that same night. Actually, since he wouldn't need to sleep any more, he wouldn't even bother going to bed, if he was alone. It would be a little bit weird getting used to that, but the bottom line was, he would be back with Sammy, and very little would change in their lives. Cas and Gail made it work, so Dean was sure he could, too. It would definitely have its good points. He could protect Sam much better as an Angel, and he would have the power to heal. How cool would that be? And Cas and Gail had smiled and assured him that there were other benefits, as well. Nicole would be one lucky woman, going forward. Frank had yelled "TMI!" at that and put his hands over his ears, humming loudly, and they'd all laughed. But the point had been made, and Dean had started to realize that his death might not be the end of the world, after all. But it would be the end of Lucifer, and that was pretty much all the incentive Dean needed.

He got down on the floor to look for his slippers, and now, his pulse was pounding in his head. Crap. That would be another thing he wouldn't miss. Although, to be fair, he probably wouldn't be drinking very much when he was an Angel, either. Cas and Gail still drank on occasion, but Dean could tell that it was a strictly social thing for them. Gail drank more often than Cas did, probably because she had been a human a lot more recently than he had. Cas had tried to tell Dean what the experience of eating and drinking was like as an Angel, but he had been unable to put it into words that Dean would understand. So he'd just wound up telling his friend that he would see for himself when he got there. But Dean wasn't too worried about it. He had the feeling that once he became an Angel, many of his current reasons to drink would cease to exist. Or, excuses, if he were to be honest about it.

He finally found his slippers and shuffled off to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. He'd expected no one to be there, but he found Sam and Gail cooking up a big breakfast. The coffee was already on, and Cas got up immediately from the kitchen table to get Dean a cup, clapping his friend on the shoulder on the way. Cas poured the coffee and he was just about to move to the fridge to get the cream when Gail put her hand on his arm. She reached up into the cupboard above where she was standing and got out the bottle of Bailey's she'd brought over from their house. She poured a generous dollop into Dean's mug, after breaking the seal. "Hair of the dog," she told Cas. "It'll make him feel better."

Cas gave her a brief smile and a wink, and then he said, "I don't see what the fur of a canine would have to do with anything."

Dean laughed, but that hurt his head. Cas brought him the coffee and he sipped at it gratefully. "What's for breakfast?" Dean asked.

"Anything you want," Gail said cheerfully. "What would you like?"

Dean sighed. The condemned man's last breakfast. He considered making a wisecrack about that, but he knew it would come out harsh and wrong-sounding, so he refrained. "What I'd like is to go back to bed for a couple more hours," he said. "But what I'm gonna do is have a shower, and a shave. I'll just take whatever you guys make. Then I'm gonna call Nicole, find out where she is, and have Cas take me over to see her. Is that OK with everybody?"

"Yes, of course, Dean," Cas told him. "Whatever you need."

"Do you want us to keep your breakfast warm, or wait until you get out of the shower and then make it?" Sam asked him.

"I can whip up some blueberry pancakes, if you want," Gail said. "Actually, I think we've still got some chocolate chips. I could check."

Dean was holding his head again. It was pounding, and they were making it even worse.

"How about chocolate truffles?" he said irritably. "You got any of those? Maybe I'll get you to go to Hawaii and get me a pineapple. Would you do that for me, Gail?"

She wheeled on him, her eyes narrowing. Dean started to smile. Now, they were getting somewhere. But then Gail looked at Cas, who was giving her the puppy-dog eyes. So she took a deep breath and said, "Do you really want a pineapple, Dean? I could go get you one, if you want."

Dean let out a frustrated breath. He stood suddenly from his chair. No, what he wanted was for everybody to treat him normally. Gail should be throwing utensils at him by now, and Sam should be telling him that he would eat whatever they made, or he could get in Baby and go down to the diner.

Luckily, there was Frank, who was entering the kitchen just as Dean was stalking out. "Hey, Winchester! Want me to drive you to church? You'd better get a head start on that confession, based on everything I heard last night."

Dean looked at Frank appreciatively. "Finally!" he said loudly. "Somebody who gets it!" Dean wheeled on his friends. "I just want everybody to be normal, OK? Today's gonna be hard enough without everybody walking on eggshells around me. Gail, tell me I'll eat what you make, and like it. Sammy, tell me to shove it. Cas...well, maybe you should stay even-tempered, because I really do need you to take me to Nicole." He put his hand on Cas's arm. Cas had rushed forward when Dean had made to leave the room, presumably to follow him. Dean wanted to put the kibosh on that. Cas may be his best friend, but that didn't mean that Dean wanted him in the bathroom when Dean showered. Cas had gotten a lot better in recent years with the concept of personal space, and Dean wanted to keep it that way. He loved Cas like his own brother, but the next person he wanted seeing him naked was a lot more feminine.

"Can you do me a favour, Cas?" Dean asked his friend. "Can you find out where Nicole is, and tell her I'm coming to see her?"

"Sure, Dean," Cas replied. The two of them headed down the hallway together as Frank entered the kitchen and helped himself to a cup of coffee.

"Where's Jody? And Rob?" Gail asked him.

"Jody's still in bed," Frank replied. "I was teasing her about being a lightweight. Then she used some very colourful language and pulled the covers over her head. So I decided discretion was the better part of valour, and got the hell out of there. Rob is watching TV with Barry and Tommy. I talked to those guys about keeping Rob occupied today. I guess I'm gonna have to figure out how to talk to him about what's supposed to happen tomorrow, but I've been putting it off. I'm still hoping for an eleventh-hour miracle."

Gail and Sam exchanged a quick glance, but Frank missed it because he was reaching into the fridge for the cream. By the time Gail's brother pulled his head out of the fridge, they had gone back to their breakfast preparations.

"You'd better tell him," Sam said tonelessly. "Rob's not a little kid anymore."

Frank paused in the act of pouring cream into his mug. "You know what, Sam? I don't see how you can be so calm about this."

Gail frowned. "Frank..." she said warningly.

Sam turned away from the stove to look at Gail's brother. "What do you want me to do, Frank?"

Frank was uncomfortable. He didn't know, really. All he knew was that Sam and Gail were bustling around making breakfast as if this was just a normal, ordinary day. As if Sam wasn't going to travel halfway across the world and stab his own brother to death tomorrow. Everybody reacted to different things in different ways, and Frank realized there wasn't exactly a rulebook for these types of situations. But, still...Frank didn't know what he wanted Sam to do, he only knew that he wanted Sam to drop the damn spatula and do...something.

But Sam wasn't Frank, and Frank wasn't Sam, and the look on Sam's face made Frank close his mouth with a snap. If these had been ordinary circumstances, Gail would have made a quip about that, but she let it go.

Meanwhile, Dean had taken a quick shower, and he went into his room, a towel wrapped around his waist. Cas was sitting on Dean's bed waiting for him. "Nicole is back in her apartment in Vancouver," Cas told him, closing the laptop. "She said it's a good time for you to visit. They're waiting to find out if there are any additional scenes the director wants to shoot, or if it's a wrap. I didn't tell her anything, only that I'd be bringing you."

And that was true. It wasn't as if she hadn't asked, but Cas had felt like it was up to Dean how much or how little he wanted to tell her about the situation. Nicole had been curious, of course, but Cas had used his Angelic evasiveness on her.

Dean went to his dresser and pulled out shorts, socks, and a T-shirt. He dropped the towel on the floor and began to dress, unconcerned about any sense of modesty. He and Cas had changed clothes in front of each other a number of times before.

"What are you going to say to her, Dean?" Cas asked his friend in a small voice.

Dean turned around to look at his Angel friend, alarmed. Cas was on the verge of tears, and it wasn't even 9 a.m. yet. Not gonna happen. He strode over to the bed and sat down beside Cas, putting his socks on.

"Do me a favour and quit blubbering," Dean said bluntly, hoping to snap Cas out of it. "I'll be an Angel soon, same as you, and I'll be around forever, same as you." He smirked at his friend. "I can't wait to remind your wife about that. An eternity of retorts. Gail won't know what hit her."

Cas smiled back tremulously. That all sounded pretty wonderful to him. If it worked out that way. Whether or not Dean actually believed it himself, Cas was glad that he was putting a positive spin on the situation. But there were alternative scenarios that were just as plausible. Maybe Dean wouldn't go to the Garden in preparation to ascend. He could just as easily descend. Dean had been in Hell before, and he had done some questionable things in his life, to say the least. And if he went there, there wouldn't be anything that Cas could do about it. Castiel had received a special dispensation from God Himself to storm into Hell and rescue Dean. At the time, Cas had wondered why God would decide to wreak havoc in Hell and put so many Angels' lives at risk for just one man. Then, when he'd seen Dean and gripped him tightly, raising Dean from Perdition, Castiel had understood. Dean Winchester was a very unique, special individual, who stood out like a shining beacon. He had also seemed familiar to Castiel, although the Angel hadn't known exactly why. But, when Dean had looked at Castiel with such amazement and awe as they rose together from the depths of Hell, Castiel had known immediately that he loved Dean, and that Dean loved him, and that they were destined to be brothers.

That was why Cas was starting to cry now. Just like the boy wizard in those books and movies, it would seem that God had sent Castiel to perform the rescue operation just so that Dean Winchester could die at the proper time. But this was not fiction, it was the real world, and there were no such things as resurrection stones. And Cas loved Gail all the more for trying, but there would be no resurrection spells, either. The Tablets were the Word of God, and as such, they had to be obeyed.

It was also possible that Dean could go to Purgatory. That wasn't without precedent, either. Dean would fare better there, but it was no kind of existence. Constantly fighting monsters, looking over your shoulder, never having a moments' peace. No. That would be unacceptable.

And worst of all was the fear that Dean might be taken to the Netherworld. At first glance, that would appear to be a good thing. In its own way, the Netherworld was sort of a strange version of Heaven. On the plus side, it had seemed very peaceful there, and from what Cas had seen, everyone had their own little homes there, just like Heaven. However, there was something very sterile and colourless about the place. And once an entity went there, they could never come back. Cas was pretty sure that Dean had visions of being assigned to Earth by whomever turned out to be the next God, so that he and his brother could be reunited. Well, if Dean went to the Netherworld, that could never happen.

But all they could do was wait to see what was going to happen. In the meantime, Dean could have his day today to do whatever he needed to do to make his peace, and Cas would keep himself at his friend's disposal.

"I'm gonna finish getting dressed, then shave, and then have a big breakfast," Dean told Cas. "Then, I'll get you to take me to Nicole's. I'll probably be there for a few hours, and then I'll call you on your cell to come and get me. OK?"

"OK, Dean," Cas said softly.

Dean sighed. Well, at least Cas wasn't crying any more. "Uh, Cas..."

"Yes, Dean?"

"Can you...?" Dean gestured to the door.

"Oh. Yes. Sure," Cas said. He stood from the bed, and he looked so awkward that it made Dean's heart hurt, because that was so much like the old Cas. They said that your whole life passed through your mind before you died; maybe that was what was happening now. Hopefully, if that kept on happening, he would only see the good stuff. And there had been a lot of that. Dean was determined to stay as positive as he could. If there was anything to that karma junk, he wanted to go out as pure as possible.

"Cas?" Dean said, and his friend turned around expectantly. "Thanks."

"For what?" Cas said, puzzled.

"For everything," Dean said simply, and Cas gave him a gentle smile. Then he left Dean's room, closing the door softly behind him.

"I love you, Nicole," Dean said, as soon as Cas had left her apartment.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I knew you liked to drink, but I didn't think you usually drank in the morning," she quipped.

"I'm serious, Nicole." Dean took her by the hand. "Come on and sit down. I need to talk to you." He led her over to the couch and sat her down. "I don't have much time, so I have to shorthand it," Dean said to her. "You don't have to say it back. You don't have to say anything. I just needed to tell you how I felt, face to face."

Nicole peered at him closely. "What's going on, Dean? What's wrong?"

He told her about what the Tablet said, and she was shocked and angry. "That's crazy!" Nicole exclaimed. "Is Cas sure that's what it says?"

"Yeah, he's sure," Dean said glumly. "I have to do this, Nicole. If you had seen what I saw when the death squads were out there, chopping people up..." He cut himself off. No. There was no reason to tell her about all of that.

Nicole was horrified. She could read between the lines, and she had Google. Even though they'd been blessedly exempt in Vancouver, she had a pretty good idea of the atrocities that had been committed in different cities around the world in Lucifer's name, and at his behest. But why did it have to be Dean? Why should HE have to pay the price? And what would that do to Sam, and Cas and Gail? What was it going to do to Nicole?

"I love you too, Dean," she said, throwing her arms around his neck.

Dean put his arms around her, and they hugged for a while. Then Dean pulled out of the embrace. "I'm hoping I'll end up an Angel, like Cas and Gail," he told her. "If everything works out the way I want, I'll see you on the flip side. But, just in case, maybe you'd better line up another date for the movie premiere."

Nicole laughed, but then she started to cry, and Dean put his arms around her again, comforting her. Lucky Sam had done a big laundry recently; everybody was going to be leaking on him today. Well, he guessed that beat the alternative. It sure beat nobody giving a damn.

They sat there like that for a while, and then Nicole said, "Well, if this is your last day as a human, let's make the most out of it." She took him by the hand and led him to the bedroom.

Metatron was sitting in his own apartment in Vancouver, and he was writing furiously. The notes he had for the next movie called for a big, apocalyptic fight with Lucifer, and he was trying to figure out how that should go, and what it should look like.

Each of the five Originals was going to have their moment of screen time. Metatron had finally written Gail in, having successfully pitched the idea to Richard and the other producers. They'd initially been resistant to the idea, but Richard had changed his own mind after seeing how sweet Cas and Gail were with each other, and he had helped to persuade the others. So, as things stood now, Castiel was going to meet Gail in Rome, when he and the Winchesters went there to get the Heaven Tablet. She was going to die in an earthquake, then come back as an Angel. Castiel was going to profess his love to her in a touching scene that was going to make all the fangirls swoon, but then it was going to be revealed that God had sent her to be Castiel's mate, and He had conferred the powers of an Original Angel upon her so she could help the other Original Angels defeat Lucifer. So, pretty much like real life, with the only exception being the real circumstances of their meeting, of course. Gail would like it, he was sure, and it was the least that Metatron could do after all of the terrible things that he had done to her and Castiel over the past few years.

It had been written somewhere that there were five different Archetypes of individuals that were required for a good, epic story: the Hero, the Mentor, the Everyman, the Innocent, and the Villain. Their story certainly had all of those, and more; both the fictional story, and the true one. Which of them would die, and which would survive?

VIGNETTE - CASTIEL - FREE WILL

As Metatron was writing about Castiel stepping up to face Lucifer, the Scribe finally had to admit to himself that the Hero was Castiel. It had always been Castiel. It didn't matter how much Metatron reformed himself. He could heal the sick, feed the poor, and bring about world peace, and still, Castiel would be the one that the Angels would look to, to lead them. Metatron just had to accept that. The Hero was the handsome, charming one, with the sparkling blue eyes, chiseled jaw, and muscular physique. Metatron's vessel wasn't nearly good-looking enough, and his personality wasn't dashing enough. He'd been bitter about that in the past, but he had finally learned to let that go.

But interestingly enough, even though the Hero was always the protagonist, the protagonist was not always a hero. Was Castiel a hero? Yes. And, no. That would be for Heaven's writers of history books to decide, not Metatron. Both viewpoints could be argued, along with several shades in-between.

The Hero's ability to stay true to himself throughout the story, despite the trials he had to face, was one of his hallmarks. If Metatron had been aware of the situation going on in the bunker right now, he could have told Gail that Castiel could not possibly have sanctioned her use of Rowena's spell book to bring Dean back from the dead. A true Angel of the Lord could never go along with using black magic to counteract a Holy edict. Cas may be very humanized now, but there were still some lines he would never be able to cross. There could be some trouble coming down the road for Heaven's golden couple, if Castiel and Gail took opposing views on the issue.

One of the other trademarks of the Hero was his ability and motivation to save people. Castiel had those qualities too, of course. Although, depending on who you asked, you might receive different points of view on the details of that particular quality. If you asked Lucifer, or possibly Crowley, they would probably tell you that Castiel would be very willing to save any number of people, but he would also make damn sure he saved himself, first. But Gail would tend to disagree, naturally. She was looking through the eyes of love, but she would likely say from her point of view that Cas took too much on himself, holding himself responsible for everyone's continued survival. The truth was probably somewhere in the middle, in Metatron's opinion, but he had to grudgingly admit that Gail's viewpoint was probably closer to the truth. The bad guys always bitched that Castiel was selfish, because they had to find things that were wrong with him. Some people could only feel better about themselves when they were putting others down. Metatron used to be one of those people, so he knew first-hand what that was like. But, no longer. Metatron was not interested in being resentful any more. He was very happy with his life now and, as his burgeoning notebook would suggest, he had a lot to live for, because he had a lot to look forward to.

But, back to Castiel for the moment. Both the Winchesters and Gail had taught Cas the importance of the unity of family, and he had improved immeasurably in that regard. Castiel no longer thought like a renegade, but almost like a father, taking the responsibility on his own shoulders to make sure that everyone was safe. But there were certain things that were still above the longest-serving Angel's pay grade, and Dean's impending death was one of them. All roads led to Rome, so to speak, and if their Father had decreed that it be so, then so it would be.

And what would become of Castiel after that? How would he feel going forward, if he stood back and allowed his best friend to die? Would he be able to live with himself? Would his marriage and his relationships with the rest of his family survive, or would they wither and die if Castiel closed himself down again, as he'd done in Heaven in the past? Only time would tell on that score.

Free Will. It was funny, really. Dean Winchester had taught Castiel all about the concept, and the Angel had taken to it like a fish to water. Imagine being able to make your own choices. Heaven hadn't been like that at all; you followed orders, or you perished. That was all there was to it. But when Castiel and the Winchesters and Bobby had taken the rule book and set fire to it, opting for Free Will instead, their actions had set a number of things in motion. It was unclear to Metatron whether his Father had actually bought into the concept of Free Will, or if He had just been paying lip service to it. But in any event, that would cease to matter tomorrow, after Sam Winchester raised Lucifer's blade to his brother and recreated the First Murder, in reverse.

The only matter that was left to be decided was whether Castiel would survive an apocalyptic confrontation with Lucifer, or whether he would even want to, after seeing Sam murder Dean. Prior to Gail's arrival, Metatron would have taken odds that Castiel would have fallen on his own Angel blade after the heartbreaking deed was done. But now, Castiel's wife was his primary reason for existing. As long as Gail was alive, Castiel would go on, albeit with a heavy heart. But grief affected different people in different ways. It would either bring the couple even closer together, or it would rend them apart.

But, would Castiel's character survive the film? Should he? For the purposes of compelling cinema, maybe Cas should die heroically, while saving his little girlfriend. The fangirls would weep and wail, but they would also love the romance behind the notion. The only problem was, the franchise was committed to at least one more picture after the one Metatron was writing now, and a Cas-less Supernatural was unthinkable. Then again, dead wasn't always dead in their world. There could be a way.

As Metatron was working on plot points, Dean and Nicole were reluctantly getting dressed. They had made love, then cuddled and talked, and then made love once more. In his efforts to keep things light for her, Dean had joked that once he came back as an Angel, he'd be able to go all night, if she wanted.

"Do you mean - Cas and Gail - " she had said hesitantly, and Dean had nodded. "Yup," he confirmed. "Wow, no wonder Cas seems so happy all the time," Nicole had remarked, and she and Dean had laughed and laughed. Then Nicole had caressed Dean's chest and his rock-hard stomach and said mischievously, "I'll have to set aside a whole weekend, then," and they had both laughed again.

Now that they were dressed, the mood had gotten quiet once more. "Are you sure this is the only way, Dean?" Nicole asked him softly.

He finished buttoning up his shirt. "I'd like to say no, but, honestly? Yeah. Yeah, it's the only way, Nicole."

She had been sitting on the edge of the bed watching him dress, memorizing every detail of his body and his face. Just in case, she told herself. Nicole wasn't as familiar with the way things worked in Dean's world as he was, but she was no fool, either.

Dean walked back to the bed. "I'll tell Cas or Gail to call you once...well, you know. I'm gonna tell Bobby what I want as far as arrangements go. Sam, too, unless he's too much of a basket case. You can come to my funeral, if you want. They're gonna have to burn my body, but I want to have a memorial service in the back yard of the bunker before that happens. I'll tell them to keep the booze flowing, and you can all tell funny stories about me. That's the way I want to go out."

Nicole rose to her feet and the two of them hugged and kissed for a few more minutes. Nicole was trying to be stoic, but Dean could see that her eyes were welling up again, and he wanted to remember her in a happier light, in case things didn't work out the way he hoped. "I love you, Nicole," he said, chucking her under the chin. "I'm gonna leave now. It'll ruin my reputation if I start bawling like a baby. With any luck, I'll see you real soon."

She nodded. "OK, Dean. OK. I'll see you real soon." She smiled bravely for him, and he gave her one more long, lingering kiss, then left her apartment.

Cas took Dean back to the bunker, and Dean went straight to the kitchen for a beer. It might be a bit early, but it was getting late for him. It was just after lunchtime now, and he realized he was sort of hungry again. Seemed like the perfect time to check the next item off the list.

Dean got his beer, and he'd been about to walk down the hallway when he heard a noise coming from the garage. He stepped out there and saw Frank standing in front of the Charger with the hood up, and Rob was standing beside him.

As Dean drew closer, he could see that Frank was explaining the parts of the engine to Rob: what they were, what they did, and how to maintain them. Rob had a bit of a glazed look in his eyes, but to his credit, he seemed to be hanging in there. Not everybody shared Frank and Dean's love of classic cars and their proper feeding and maintenance, but, bless Frank's heart. He was trying to bond with his kid any way he could. Dean could have used a bit more of that from his own dad, growing up.

"Hey, Frank!" Dean called out. "Why don't you take Rob over to see my Baby, so he can see what a really cool engine looks like?"

Frank's arm popped over the hood, giving Dean the one-finger salute. Dean laughed. He should almost save Frank for last; at least then, Dean could go out laughing.

"You guys eaten lunch yet?" Dean asked, approaching the car.

"Nope," Frank responded. He straightened up, wiping his hands on a rag.

"What do you say I take you guys out to the diner for a cheeseburger and fries?" Dean said. "My treat. Where's Jody?"

"Inside, somewhere," Frank replied. "She said to let her know when you got back."

"OK, let's go get her, then. You and her and Rob can come with me to the diner. We'll take Baby. On me."

Rob was staring at Dean with wide eyes. Aw, crap. "Actually, on second thought, can you go and get Jody?" Dean asked Frank. "I want to talk to Rob for a minute."

Frank nodded curtly. Once he had left the garage, Dean leaned against the Charger, looking at Rob. "Hey, I'm not a ghost yet, so quit looking at me like I am," Dean said to the boy. "So, you know we couldn't come up with anything. Did your dad tell you that, or did you know already?"

"I had a pretty good idea," Rob said, frowning. "He just confirmed it for me." There was silence for a minute, and then Rob said, "What's wrong with God? Why does he let this stuff happen?"

Dean shrugged uncomfortably. "I dunno, Rob. Nobody does. Maybe you should talk to Cas about that. That's kind of his department."

"I'm not talking to Cas," Rob said angrily. "I hate Cas."

"Don't say that," Dean said sharply. "Don't be a dick. None of this is Cas's fault. None of it. It's eating him up inside. If you let hate consume you, then Lucifer wins, and I'll die for nothing. Do you get that, Rob?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Rob answered. "I just think it's so unfair."

Dean chuffed out a laugh. "Hey, think how I feel. Do me a favour. Try not to give your dad such a hard time. He's a good man, and he loves you a lot. I wish my own dad had been as cool as yours is."

"Where IS your dad?" Rob asked curiously.

"Dead," Dean said shortly. "That seems to be an occupational hazard in my family. But, you never know; things might work out yet." He winked at the boy as Frank and Jody came out of the bunker.

Dean drove the family to the diner and treated them to lunch. Jody had complained that she still wasn't feeling well, but when her burger came, she ate it ravenously, and then she reached over to Frank's plate, snagging some of his fries. "Hey!" he objected, but she shrugged, and then Frank gave up, pushing his plate toward his wife. Dean smirked at that, but he also thought it was kind of sweet. Cas and Gail they were not, but in their own way, Frank and Jody were just as loving a couple.

When they got back to the bunker, Dean went out to the library area, where Cas and Gail were sitting morosely at the table. "I need to borrow your wife," Dean said to Cas.

Gail looked up at Dean inquiringly. "You're the next stop on the tour," Dean told her. "I want to take you for a couple of drinks, but I don't want hubby breathing down our necks. I might want to see if I can finally persuade you to run off with me," he added, smirking.

Gail smiled, rising from her chair. She leaned down and kissed Cas on the forehead. "Don't wait up," she quipped. Cas smiled wearily. Gail walked over to Dean and took him by the hand, winking them over to the Hunter bar.

Dean bought them each a drink and then he led them over to a corner table, where they could talk privately. They clinked glasses and drank.

"How was lunch?" Gail asked him.

"It was good, actually," Dean replied. "That's one hell of a family Frank's got there."

She smiled faintly. "I know. I'm really happy for him."

"Make sure he's OK after...you know," Dean said. "He puts on the tough-guy, wisecracking face, but this is gonna be really hard on him."

Gail sighed. "I know. It's going to be really hard on a lot of people."

Dean studied her face. "What about you? How come you're not bawling your eyes out? I thought you liked me better than that. Even Cas was crying this morning."

For a split second, Gail considered telling him. But what if it didn't work? Or what if he told Cas? That would be the last thing they would need right now. Sometimes, it was just better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. But, of course Dean would be suspicious. She might be tougher now than when they'd first met, but he was right: she should be bawling her eyes out right now.

Instead, she smiled. "Do you remember the night we first met?"

Dean smirked. "How could I forget? It was one of the more unusual ways I've ever met a woman."

"I'll bet there's been lots of times you regret not having run me over, when you had the chance," she said with a crooked smile.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, a few," he answered in kind. Then he took a drink. "I don't regret a thing, Gail," he said seriously. "I love you so much. You know that. Tell Cas he's a son of a bitch for snapping you up first."

"Oh, right. As if," she retorted.

"You made our lives so much better," Dean told her.

"Stop it, or you ARE going to make me cry," she said, taking a sip of her drink.

"It's only been half a day, and already, I'm getting sick of this whole farewell tour thing," Dean sighed. "I don't know how The Who did it."

"Who?" she quipped.

"Leave the bad jokes to Frank. You're better than that," he said, grinning. They drank for another minute, and then Dean put his glass down on the table. "You're still thinking about it, aren't you?" he said bluntly. "You and Sam. Right?"

Gail made a face. Dammit. She didn't want to tell him the truth, but she didn't want to lie to him, either.

"Right?" Dean persisted, more sternly.

Gail sighed heavily. "OK, Dean. Yeah, we are. But so what? If you think we're losing you, you're crazy."

"It's gonna piss Cas off," Dean warned her.

Gail shrugged. "I repeat: so what? Screw him. He'll get over it. Once he sees that you're alive, he'll be as happy as anything."

"You think so?" Dean said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, of course I do," she answered quickly.

"OK, then, let me ask you something else: what if you guys try it, and it doesn't work? Or, what if it does work, but I come back as some kind of a weird Pet Cemetery guy, or something?"

Gail opened her mouth, and then she closed it again. Truthfully, she hadn't considered that. She'd had absolutely no doubt that the spell would work the way it was supposed to. None. But now, Dean had put the idea in her head. What if it DIDN'T work?

"Losing you is unacceptable to me," she said, almost angrily. "If you insist on being the sacrifice, I'll make it work. Me and Sam. Whatever it takes."

"What about Cas?" Dean asked her again. "If your hoodoo doesn't bring me back as a human, I don't wanna spend eternity as an Angel watching you guys fight."

Gail sighed. "If I knew for sure you would be with us as an Angel, I wouldn't be pushing so hard for this. But there are so many other places you could go. I don't think we can afford to take that chance."

Dean's lips twitched. "Hey, just because you've told me to go to Hell so many times, doesn't mean I will."

"You can't kid a kidder, Dean. I don't have time to sugarcoat it. There's no God right now, but from what I understand, Death could just take you himself, and plunk you anywhere he wants. And I get the feeling that he doesn't like you very much."

Dean frowned. The idea had occurred to him, of course, but he'd been keeping himself in denial about it. But it was true, what Gail was saying. In the absence of a Higher Authority, Death could pretty much do whatever he wanted, couldn't he?

"My way is the best way," Gail insisted. "Say what you will about Crowley, but the bottom line is, he's still around today because the spell works."

"OK, well, you know what? If Sammy's on board, I guess I'm OK with you trying," Dean sighed. "If it doesn't work, I guess we're no worse off. Just...make sure that you and Cas are all right, will you? If I was gonna break up your marriage, I'd much rather it be because I was too irresistible for you, and you and I finally had that hot, steamy night."

She smiled, then pretended to look at a watch on her wrist. "Well, there's still time."

They both laughed, and then they clinked their glasses. "I love you so much," Gail told him. "But I'm not going to say goodbye to you, because we're going to see you again, soon."

Dean nodded. "I'm gonna want to talk to Cas in a little while."

"Sure, Dean. Do whatever you need to do. But can you do me a favour? Don't tell him about this whole thing, OK? You know the old saying about it being better to ask for forgiveness than for permission, right?"

He shook his head slowly. Gail. She was one of a kind, that was for sure. Cas would forgive her. He might be mad as hell, but Cas would have no choice but to relent. Dean knew that his Angel friend would sooner die than to break up with his wife. The very idea was unthinkable. So he raised his glass again, they had another toast, and then a short while later, he had her wink him back to the bunker.

VIGNETTE - CROWLEY - 666 SHADES OF GREY

Metatron was writing Crowley's big scene now. As much as he couldn't stand the King of Hell, the Scribe had to admit that he was fun to write. He always had the most snarky, venomous, yet amusing comments. Metatron knew the character of Crowley was a fan favourite. Intellectually, he guessed he could understand why the fans loved to hate Crowley yet hated to admit that they loved him. At first blush, the King seemed like a pretty fun guy. He was British, he was witty and urbane, and he was always around to help the boys, whether he wanted to or not. Even the rivalry between Crowley and Castiel was fun. It was like the showdown between the Sheriff and Black Bart, or the banter between James Bond and a super-villain, or something.

But in real life, Crowley was a vicious little self-serving weasel whose act had grown really old. He should have been killed or usurped years ago. Metatron tried to prevent his hatred of Crowley from making its way through the pen and onto the paper, but it was hard. Crowley had tortured the crap out of him when he'd been in Hell, and Metatron had never forgiven him for that. And yes, Metatron had done things to Crowley too, but Crowley was the King of Hell. Anything bad that happened to him was no more than he deserved.

As an Archetype, as much as Metatron would like to make Crowley the Villain, there could only be one, and in this particular situation, that wasn't Crowley. So, the King of Hell slotted in as the Mentor. He was the most knowledgeable one when it came to the ancient language. Metatron also hated to admit that fact, because he was God's Scribe, but a fact was a fact. For some unknown reason, their Father had endowed Crowley with language and translation skills that were superior to any of the others'. Maybe, because Cain had been the first Child, God had enough of a soft spot for him to want to see Crowley survive. And one of the best ways to ensure his continued survival would be to give Crowley some assets that would be of use to the Angels.

Crowley was also an expert at reading the markings on their blades, although Metatron felt that Castiel could be much better at that particular skill if he would only apply himself to it a bit more. But it would be difficult to get Castiel to sit down and focus for long enough to do the Angel much good. Castiel was a man of action, not a scholar. Maybe Gail would be better suited to that type of pursuit. But that would be for the couple to work out; Metatron had messed with them enough.

But, back to Crowley for the moment. If the King were so inclined, he could share a fountain of knowledge with the Angels, but only if he was in the mood. And, as prickly as Crowley could often be, he did occasionally decide to be magnanimous. The King appeared to vacillate between Hero and Villain, black hat and white hat. He was more Evil than Good, but he was also more Good than most thought him to be, even himself. Crowley's problem was that he thought he could play both ends against the middle. And maybe he even could, but eventually, a candle burning at both ends would burn down, leaving you with nothing but hot wax, blistering your hands.

Maybe Crowley should be the one to die. He could either be the tragic Hero, having aligned himself with the God Squad, or maybe, Crowley could die protecting Gail. That would create more pathos for the death scene. Either that, or the King could decide to side with Lucifer, and then Castiel could kill him. In a way, that would be only fair, seeing as Crowley had killed his younger brother first. But how upset would the fans be about that? And should Metatron even care?

When Dean and Gail got back to the bunker, the elder Winchester asked Cas where Bobby was.

"He went up the stairs about twenty minutes ago to sit outside," Cas said, gesturing. "He said to tell you where he was, when you were ready to talk to him."

Dean nodded. Might as well do it now. It was getting to be late afternoon already.

As Dean walked up the stairs, Cas approached Gail. "Are you all right?" he asked her, looking closely at her face.

"Yeah, I'm all right, Cas," she said softly. Then it occurred to her why he was looking at her that way. She should have red, weepy eyes now. "I'm trying to be brave for Dean," she added. "You know how he hates it when I bawl like a baby."

Cas's expression softened. That was certainly true. But he still wanted to talk to her. "I asked Sam where that spell book was," he said calmly.

Gail's heart skipped a beat, but she said nothing. She should have figured that Cas would ask.

"He said he didn't know," Cas continued, gazing steadily at her.

"Oh. Well, he's got a lot on his mind right now," she said.

"True, true," Cas agreed, nodding. He didn't say anything else, he just continued to stare at her.

Suddenly, Gail realized what he was trying to do. Cas liked watching cop shows on TV, and in many of them, the detectives would get the suspect in the interrogation room, sit him or her down, and just stare at them. Many of them would get so unnerved that they would just start to babble and incriminate themselves.

And the worst part was, it was starting to work. Her conscience was starting to gnaw at her now. But she couldn't let Cas find out about the book; if he did, she was sure that he would destroy it, and then all would be lost. So she moved forward and put her arms around him, asking to be held. So he held her. And by the time Dean came back down the stairs, the subject was forgotten.

"So...body-burning, memorial service, out back here. Lots of booze," Bobby said when Dean came outside. "Anything else?"

Dean sat down in the lawn chair beside Bobby, and the older man passed Dean the bottle he was holding. Dean took a swig and then handed it back to him.

"I can't think of anything else, except taking care of Sam," Dean remarked.

Bobby looked at him. "Don't insult me, boy."

Dean grimaced. "Sorry, Bobby."

They were silent for a moment, and then Bobby said, "I wish it was me. It should be me."

"Don't say that, Bobby," Dean said uncomfortably.

"Why not?" Bobby said in a thick voice. "You're like my own son."

"Are you crying?" Dean asked him incredulously.

"No, I'm not crying, ya idjit," Bobby said, sniffling back the tears. "I've got hay fever."

"Oh, Yeah. Right," Dean said quickly. "I forgot. Anyway, I'm getting kind of tired of this whole farewell tour thing, so I won't draw this out. I just wanted to make sure you had everything under control."

"Last song?" Bobby said tersely.

Dean shrugged. "I don't care. Zeppelin, Aerosmith. Bob Seger, maybe. Isn't there a song called 'The Famous Final Scene'? Maybe that one." He smirked. "Just don't let Sammy or Gail pick it. I don't want my bones burning to some candy-ass pop song. Then, I wouldn't even be able to come back as a vengeful spirit and haunt them, if things go that way."

Bobby's beard twitched, but when he spoke, it was in a serious tone. "I'm awful damn sorry, Dean."

Dean gave him a half-shrug. "Why? You didn't write the stupid Tablet."

"Yeah, I know, but if I hadn't resigned as God - "

"Never mind," Dean said curtly, cutting him off. "We've all made mistakes. Besides, this might all work out yet. With any luck, Cas'll be the next God, and then he'll just send me back here."

"That's if you even make it to the Garden in the first place," Bobby remarked. "When I was God, Sam was slated to go to the Netherworld, remember? That was why we had to send him and Gail back in time, so she could stop him from having that accident."

Dean was startled. That was right. He'd almost forgotten about that. "So was I on the list, or not?" he asked Bobby impatiently.

Bobby frowned. "I got no idea. I can't remember any more. When I was God, I knew a few things that I don't know any more. There must be a failsafe in place, or something."

Dean sighed. Great. He toyed with the idea of telling Bobby what Gail had in mind, but then, he decided against it. Why raise Bobby's hopes like that? Besides, the more people who knew, the more chance that somebody would blab. It would either work or it wouldn't, but Dean couldn't concern himself with that one way or the other. He was having a hard enough time keeping it together right now as it was, and the heaviest hitters were still to come.

So Bobby and Dean talked for a bit longer, passing the bottle back and forth, until the sky started to lose its light. When it did, Bobby's voice grew thick again, and Dean stood from his chair. He looked down at Bobby and said, "We'll talk later, but I don't want you coming to Madagascar. I don't want you to see."

Bobby nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak at the moment, but he was glad that Dean had said that. What they were describing was the kind of thing you could never un-see, and Bobby didn't want to have nightmares every night for the rest of his life.

Dean turned around and went into the bunker.

VIGNETTE - METATRON - AGAINST THE WIND

Metatron was still writing the battle scene. He hadn't decided if any of them were going to bite the dust yet; or if one of them was, who it was going to be. He had gotten to his own scene now. He was the Everyman in the tale, the stand-in for the reader, or the audience, in this case. He was the character that they were supposed to be able to relate to, the ordinary person who extraordinary things sometimes happened to. That had certainly been true back in the day, when God had designated Metatron, out of all of the Angels, to be his Scribe. Then God had blessed him further, imbuing him with special powers as an Original, affording him a higher status. Metatron only wished he would have appreciated God's blessings more fully at the time. There had only been four Original Angels back then, because Gail hadn't come along yet, and Metatron had been lucky enough to be one of them. How cool was that? But instead, he had spent so much time and energy being dissatisfied with his role. Always wanting more. That sure sounded familiar, didn't it? It sounded like his brother Lucifer.

Metatron had never stopped to realize just how big a deal his job was. He'd been God's Scribe, the guy who had recorded the Word for every being that had ever been, or ever would be. Everything had flowed through him. Everything. And now, he was an Author himself, able to tell his own stories. How great that was, too.

In fact, after this whole Lucifer thing was over, Metatron intended to be the Everyman in real life. Ted the human, writing stories. Castiel and Crowley could combine to take Metatron's powers away from him, and then he would happily live out the rest of his lifespan, however long that might be, expressing himself creatively through the written word.

With both Lucifer and Metatron taken off the game board, Metatron imagined there would probably be a power struggle between Brother Crowley and Brother Castiel. But, what else was new? And that wouldn't be Metatron's problem, not any more. He would be quite content to wear cardigan sweaters and slippers, typing out scripts. Maybe he would even take up smoking a pipe and get a cat.

Maybe his character should be the one to die in the epic battle. But if he did, would anyone care? Unlike in real life, he planned on having his character align himself with the God Squad at the very last minute, in a surprising plot twist. So maybe his death would garner some sympathy on that basis alone. But then again, if his character were to survive, maybe he could write himself as a reformed sinner. A good guy. And wouldn't that be something.

He continued to type.

"OK, Cas, you're up," Dean said to his friend.

Cas looked at him with the puppydog eyes, and Dean sighed. Besides Sam, of course, he'd known Cas was gonna be the hardest one.

"Where do you want to go, Dean?" Cas asked. He was holding Gail's hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, then brought her hand to his lips and gave it a kiss. Then he released her hand, and he stood, slowly.

Aw, geez. Dean glanced at Gail's face, but she was looking down at the table. He sure hoped she and Sammy knew what they were doing. Cas was a lot better than he used to be, but if he got a bee in his bonnet about that spell book, there was gonna be one hell of an argument. But Dean couldn't worry about that right now. He had enough on his plate. These last two goodbyes were just about going to kill him.

Dean thought about Cas's question. Where should he and Cas go to say goodbye to each other? There were so many places that held strong memories of himself and Cas, hanging out together, fighting the good fight. They had been through so much, the two of them, both good and bad. But ever since they'd first met, Cas had been Dean's go-to guy, his best friend.

"Let's go to your house," Dean said impulsively. Cas came forward and took his friend's hand, winking them to his and Gail's place.

"Can I get you anything?" Cas asked him.

Dean smiled thinly. Cas, the husband. The host. Who would have ever thought it? "Do you have any whiskey?" he asked his friend.

"I'm sure we must still have some from Christmas," Cas replied, moving towards the cabinet.

"Then have one more drink with me, Cas," Dean said. "Or maybe three."

Cas brought the bottle and two glasses over to the coffee table. Dean sat on the couch, and Cas sat beside him. He put the bottle down on the table and Dean picked it up, pouring them each a generous shot. Dean lifted his glass.

"To my best friend," he said.

Cas lifted his glass. "No. To mine," he responded.

The men clinked glasses and drank, and Cas screwed up his face, making Dean laugh. "Go get your ginger ale," he said, "and I promise I won't make fun of you."

Cas winked himself to the kitchen. Then he was back a couple of seconds later with the ginger ale, and he poured some into his glass.

"Showoff," Dean grumbled good-naturedly. "Hopefully I'll be able to do that soon, too."

"I hope so too, Dean," Cas said quietly. He took a sip of his drink.

"What do you think?" Dean asked him bluntly. "Do you think I'll go to Heaven?"

Cas was agitated. "I wish I knew, Dean. If it was up to me, you would. But I'm sure you're aware that things could very well go a different way."

"Yeah, I know, Cas," Dean responded. The men drank silently for a minute, and then Dean said, "Are you happy, Cas?"

The Angel looked at him, startled. "You know what I mean," Dean amended hastily. "Aside from this...situation." Cas nodded. "Yes, Dean. I truly am," he replied. "I want to thank you for your friendship all of these years. If it hadn't been for you, I would be the most miserable Angel in Heaven. If it hadn't been for you, I would never have met the love of my life. I owe you everything."

Dean shrugged. "Aaaaah, I'm pretty sure you and Gail would have met anyway, somehow. You didn't need my help before, Lance. Or should I call you John?"

Cas's eyes grew wide. So, Dean did remember! Then he smiled. "Just call me Cas," he smiled. "Call me your friend, for I have always been your friend, and I always will be."

Dean nodded his head. "Good deal. Hopefully, I make it back this time, too. But if I don't, you guys have to make sure that Sam is OK. I'm pretty sure he likes Quinn more than he's letting on. Maybe Gail can see if she can fix them up. Women are usually pretty good at that kind of junk. I want him to be happy, Cas. Like you are, now. And, Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?"

"Just remember how much Gail loves you," Dean told his friend.

Cas was surprised. "I know that, Dean," he said softly. "I could never forget that. She's my whole life."

Dean nodded again. "Good. I want you to be happy, Cas. You guys are my family. If I don't make it back, I want you to promise that you'll do your best to make sure everybody's OK. You're the best friend I ever had, Cas. No. That's wrong. You're not just my best friend. You're my brother. You're my brother, and I love you."

"Dean..." Cas started to say, and now the tears were running down his face. Wow. The Cas of just a few years ago would have been sitting there stiffly, telling him that God required this sacrifice to be made, and it was his duty. Dean knew which Cas he preferred.

"Come here," he said to his Angel friend, and the two men embraced. Cas laid his head on Dean's shoulder. His heart felt like it was tearing in two. Dean HAD to go to the Garden. He just had to. But there were absolutely no guarantees. That was the problem. This could be the very last time he was able to hug his best friend. He choked back a sob.

Dean chuffed out a laugh, but his eyes were stinging now. He patted Cas on the back. "Come on, you big baby," Dean said in a thick voice. "Your wife cried less." But then he laid his head on Cas's shoulder too, and the two friends cried together for the next few minutes.

VIGNETTE - GAIL - GIRL FROM THE MYSTIC

Now Metatron was writing about Gail, and he was smiling. The women were going to eat this up with a spoon. He wished he'd been able to introduce her character in the first movie and tell her full story. The way that she and Castiel had met and bonded in real life had been one hell of a story. Weird, but interesting. But even so, he was warming to her character now. She was going to be a strong woman, and a perfect match for Castiel in every way.

Gail was going to be the Innocent, of course, but she also could have been the Everyman of the tale. She certainly had been, at the beginning. Kidnapped by Demons, meeting the Winchesters, falling for an Angel. Who the hell's life was that, anyway? Oh, and not just ANY Angel, but the one with the most baggage. Major airports had less baggage than Castiel. But if Gail were the Everyman, then Metatron would have to be the Innocent, and the very idea was laughable. He might have tried to make that argument a few short years ago, when he had himself convinced that he was the one who was the victim. But, no more. The bottom line, as Dean Winchester would say, was that Metatron had started out bad, and then he had gotten worse, and he was damn lucky to still be alive right now.

So Gail had to be the Innocent, even though there were some aspects of her character that didn't quite fit that categorization. Just as Castiel wasn't purely a Hero, Gail really wasn't all that Innocent. Castiel was partially blinded by love, as far as his wife went, at least in Metatron's opinion. And Metatron wasn't necessarily talking about the innocence of sexual purity, either. You could hardly fault her on that score. Metatron was unfortunately still inexperienced in these matters, but the last time he looked, marrying the only guy you'd ever gone to bed with was pretty damn pure. No, it was more the way she conducted herself. And the thoughts that sometimes popped into her head, both spoken and unspoken, were hardly befitting for an Angel. It was a good thing that Gail was less blunt in her speech than her brother, or she would have severely wounded everyone in her circle with her sharp tongue by now. There was just something about her, if you were able to look beyond the doe eyes. A hard edge. But none of the men in her life could ever seem to get past the doe eyes. There was a toughness, a resilience about her, almost as if there was a streak of Demon in there somewhere.

Yet, in the final analysis, Gail truly WAS the Innocent. None of the bad things that had befallen her were of her own doing; at least, up until this point, they had not been. She couldn't help the circumstances she had been born into, and her choices were a product of the person that her circumstances had made her into.

Should Gail be the one to die in the fight? An argument could be made that she should. Once again, there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house if Castiel knelt over her on the big screen, crying as she died in his arms. Metatron would certainly know a lot about that type of situation, having perpetrated it himself when he had stabbed Gail at that convention in Las Vegas. But he felt no pleasure at that recollection now, only shame. Maybe he'd better not go there again, even if it was only make-believe. Boy, he'd been a really horrible guy.

So Gail was going to step up with the big boys and face Lucifer, and if her character survived, and if Castiel's did, theirs was going to be the greatest love story of all time. But what was Metatron writing, an action film, or a love story? Was it possible to have both, or should he just pick a lane?

Dean and Sam were driving down the road in Baby, and the sun was setting on the horizon. How many times had they been in this same kind of situation? Dean had no idea, but if he had a dime for each occasion, they might not have needed Cas to give them that nest egg.

They hadn't told anyone where they were going, because Dean didn't even know, himself. He just knew he needed to spend his last night alive on Earth with his brother. He parked at the Lookout Point and they got out of the car. Sam reached into the backseat and got the green cooler out. They walked around to the front of the car and sat on the hood, the cooler between them. Sam got his brother a beer and one for himself, and they had a silent toast.

"How many beers have we drunk together on the road like this?" Dean mused aloud.

"I don't know. My liver hurts, just thinking about it," Sam responded.

"I know, right?" Dean said. Another moment passed, and then he said, "I know that you and Gail are still planning to do that thing, and I just wanna say, in case it doesn't work - "

Sam cut him off. "It's gonna work, Dean," he assured his brother.

"Yeah, but in case it doesn't," Dean continued. Sam opened his mouth to speak again, but Dean held up his hand. "Shut up, Sammy. I've gotta get this out." He took a deep breath. "OK, bottom line: I love you, Sam. And I know I screwed up your life by coming to get you from school all those years ago. I've had to live with that decision ever since."

Sam couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Are you kidding?" he said to his brother. "My life would have been completely empty without you in it. I love you too, man."

"You know I'm doing this for you, don't you?" Dean asked Sam softly. "You, and Cas, and Gail, and Bobby. Frank and his family. All of you. So you can be safe. But you're the smartest guy in the known universe, and Gail might just be the smartest woman. Though if you ever tell her I said that, I'll have to kick your ass. If anybody can bring me back, you guys can. I believe in you, Sammy." Dean sighed heavily. "But look, Sam. If it doesn't work, or if it doesn't go right and I come back as some kind of Pet Cemetery whacko bastard, just put me down like Old Yeller, and then forget about it, OK? Promise me. Tell Gail the same thing. And then, if I'm really gone, you have to promise me that you'll get married and have kids, before it's too late. The whole nine. Move out of the bunker and out to the 'burbs. Get out of the business. Be happy, Sam. Life's too freakin' short. Go be a teacher, or an artist, or something. And when you have those kids, you can tell them that their Uncle Dean died icing the Devil, so you could all have a happy, peaceful life from now on. And please, Sammy, please: promise me the most important thing."

"Anything," Sam said, around the lump that was forming in his throat.

Dean continued, "I don't care if your kids are straight, gay, transvestites, or whatever. Just, for God's sake, make sure that you at least expose them to some classic rock. Let them hear some, I'm begging you. Then that way, when they're old enough, they can make the right - I mean, their own choices. Please, Sammy. I'm begging you, here. No pop music."

Dean's lips were twitching now, and Sam smiled warmly at his brother. He knew what he was doing; just trying to lighten the mood a little. Both brothers were crying now, but they were laughing through their tears.

"Whatever happens, I just want you to be at peace," Sam said a moment later, in his serious voice. "I'm pretty sure we're gonna get you back, but in case you don't, I'll see you on the other side. We all know death isn't the end. We'll either both go to Heaven, or to Hell. There's no way the two of us will be going to different places, Dean. Despite our differing tastes in music, we're like the same person."

Dean nodded. That was true enough. "Don't worry, you'll be fine here without me," he told his younger brother. "You've got a whole big family now of people who love you. They'll keep you company and help take care of you until you and I can be together again. But take your time getting there, Sammy. Live your life to the max, in the meantime. There'll be plenty of time for us to hang, later on. Look at Cas and Gail. They're gonna be around forever, together. We're gonna be like them, Sammy. I know we are."

Now both brothers were crying again, because both of them knew that there was absolutely no guarantee that any of that would happen. They had no say in the matter. Absolutely none. Sam and his algorithms. There were about a million combinations and permutations running through his head. But he wasn't going to say anything about that. There was no reason to, none at all. It was what it was. You couldn't choose to have faith only when things were going right.

Sam put his beer down and grabbed Dean, pulling him into a hug. The brothers sat there on the Impala's hood, locked in the embrace to end all embraces, until the sun went down. Then they silently got back in the car, and Dean drove on.

VIGNETTE - LUCIFER - IF I HAD A ROCKET LAUNCHER

In the script, the four Originals were combining their powers to knock the crap out of Lucifer, who was on his last legs now.

Lucifer. The Devil. Satan. Beelzebub. The ultimate Villain. It didn't matter what you called him, his name was synonymous with Evil. But Metatron knew something that almost no one else did; Lucifer was only one of many forms of Evil. There were other beings out there who were just as bad, or maybe even worse. Metatron should know; he used to be one of them. But it was Lucifer who got all of the press, because he had the notoriety.

Simply put, the Villain in any story exists to present an impediment to the Hero reaching his goal, whatever that may be. Most of the time, the Villain was given a back story, something to explain how they got to be so evil. Their mother didn't love them enough. Dad ran away with a hooker. Something. Something that makes you feel almost sorry for them. But sometimes, evil was just evil, and a bad seed was a bad seed. Some recipes were already spoiled going into the oven, and some babies were rotten at the time of their creation. Hmm. Creation. Pun definitely intended, in this instance.

The Villain's main motivation for his or her nefarious deeds usually included a hunger for power, and there was definitely a certain element of that in the things that Lucifer had done. But there was also a petulance about the Devil, an unpredictability that made him scary simply because many things he did made no sense. Villains' actions normally had fear at their very root, though there wasn't a bad guy alive who would admit that, of course. But the question was, fear of what? What could Lucifer possibly be afraid of? Who the hell knew? Maybe the scariest thing of all, the very thing that Metatron was terrified of: total and utter insignificance. At the end of the day, everyone wanted to matter. Whether you were a human or an otherworldly being, you wanted there to have been a purpose for your existence. You wanted to leave some kind of a mark, something that said "I was here, and I mattered." Many people had children in order to leave a legacy, if they were unable to make that mark themselves.

Now that Metatron had his writing, he was content that he would have his legacy here on Earth. The books and scripts he was creating now were hardly the Word of God, but they were being recorded for posterity, and best of all, they had come out of his own head. Metatron's stories were like his children. With any luck, they would survive for future generations to enjoy. Little pieces of art that were proof that he had been here, and that he had mattered.

As far as Lucifer went, it was hard to tell what he wanted his legacy to be, if he even thought about such things. The year of the death squads had been pretty epic, but it had only lasted one year. Not nearly long enough to make an indelible mark in history. Lucifer had also been The Rev, and his podcasts and TV shows would be on YouTube if people cared to watch, but soon they would be supplanted by cute baby videos and new song parodies.

Well, tomorrow morning, it would cease to matter. In real life, just as in the script he was finishing up right now, the Angels were going to take the Brothers Winchester to the hallowed ground in Madagascar. There, they were going to set up the Tablets in the star pattern, then call Crowley and Metatron to come. Then Sam was going to take Lucifer's blade and kill Dean with it in the circle of the Tablets, and then some kind of ancient magic was going to happen that would lead to Lucifer's undoing. The reality would probably be just as epic as the scene in the movie, but Metatron was only in control of the latter.

He wrote the death scene, putting as much pathos in it as he could. Then he saved it in his computer and e-mailed it to Richard, letting the producer know that he had an appointment tomorrow morning and would be unavailable for a while. But he hoped Richard liked the scene; he had poured his heart and soul into it.

Then Metatron sent a message to Castiel on their frequency, advising that he was standing by for the call.


	2. Lucifer's Legacy

Chapter 2 - Lucifer's Legacy

The night before The End, Cas had the blades out on the library table, and he, Gail, and Kevin were examining them. Chuck was there too, mainly because he'd wanted to start getting a better handle on the ancient language. By tacit agreement, the latter two Angels didn't mention Dean's name, or ask where he and Sam were. The two brothers had left the bunker hours ago, and they still hadn't returned.

They had four out of the five blades now, missing only Crowley's, and Cas had needed something constructive to do. He and Gail had been talking quietly, and the subject had come up. There would never be a better time, in a way; they had all of the hours until dawn to fill, and no one knew if Lucifer's blade would still be intact at the conclusion of what they had to do tomorrow.

As the two more experienced readers of the ancient language, Cas and Kevin were scanning each blade in turn, looking for the names of the other Originals.

"We're looking for the weaknesses of any of the other Originals," Cas had told everyone. "Apparently, our blades may have markings that denote those." He was cursing himself now. Why hadn't he devoted more time to studying these before? Yes, they'd been very busy, but he should have set aside the time. There might be something here they could use to help subdue Lucifer. But there were hundreds of tiny markings on the blades, and the language was very complex. That was his story, and he was sticking with it.

"Here's something on your blade, Cas, but it mentions Crowley, not Lucifer," Kevin said.

Cas shrugged. "We might as well make note of it," he remarked. "What does it say?"

Kevin studied the markings for a couple of minutes, and then he started to smile. But then he thought better of it, considering the current circumstances. Still, it was pretty funny. If they hadn't been standing here on the eve of Dean's death, Kevin might have laughed out loud. He had a particular hatred of Crowley, because of their history.

"You're not going to believe this," the young Angel said. "It says here that you can make Crowley tell the truth about one thing, anything, if you make him take a drink that has a ground-up crocodile tooth in it."

The Angels all looked at each other, incredulous. "That's oddly specific," Gail remarked. "But yes, please, mark that down, Kevin. I'm pretty sure that's going to be helpful at some point in the future." She looked at Cas. "It's too bad we don't have access to his blade. It makes me nervous to think that he might have some stuff on us that we don't know about."

Castiel nodded absently. He worried about that, too. But he'd been studying Gail's blade, and he was zeroing in on something now. "If Lucifer puts up a protective shield, Gail can use her blade to erode it," he said aloud. He looked at her, astonished. "That's extremely useful. When we all combine our powers to drive him toward the cage, he will doubtless attempt to put up shielding, as he fights back."

"Great," Gail said, nodding. "Between that, all of our powers, and the candlesticks, we should be able to overpower him."

"It's funny, I haven't seen Lucifer's name on any of the other blades here so far, just Gail's," Kevin remarked.

Cas looked thoughtful. "That is probably the product of years of prejudice. No one took my darling wife seriously enough to consider that she might be an equally formidable adversary for Lucifer. I'm ashamed to say that I was one of those people." He took Gail's hand. "After this is over, we will have to spend more time going over your blade," he said to her.

Gail's heart sank into her stomach. That was if he was even speaking to her, in the future. The weight of the deception that she and Sam were planning to perpetrate sat heavy on her shoulders. When Cas and Dean had gone to her and Cas's house, she and Sam had talked quietly about what they were going to do, subsequent to tomorrow's events. They would have to go ahead with the memorial service and the burning of the corpse, of course. No one else was to know that they were going to go to work on Rowena's spell immediately after the funeral, not even Cas. Gail felt terrible about that, but she couldn't afford to take the chance. He had made it quite plain how he felt about the whole thing, so she felt as if she had no choice in the matter. But, how was that going to go? Should they just go ahead and perform the spell, and then have Cas sitting here when they brought Dean in the door? Or was there a way to make it seem like Cas's idea? And, how might that go?

CASTIEL - DEATH IS NOT THE END

It had been a week since Dean's funeral, and everyone was in heavy mourning. They were all dealing with it in their own ways. Cas was in deep denial. He had withdrawn from everyone and everything, disconnecting himself from everyone in the family. He couldn't bear to go to the bunker, because every time he went there, all he could see were the empty spaces where Dean should be.

"I'm going over to the bunker to make sure that Sam has something to eat," Gail told Cas. Her husband said nothing. He didn't even look at her. Gail sighed. She was starting to feel a little resentful. She was running herself ragged trying to spend equal time with all of the people who were miserable over Dean's death, trying to make sure they were all being taken care of. But what about HER grief? Who was looking after her? Nobody, that was who. Cas had ultimately persuaded her not to pursue the revival spell, so Dean was going to stay dead. That was it. Case closed. Tout fini. So, this was their lives now. She hoped Cas was happy. If he had let them, she and Sam could have been working on the spell to revive Dean right now. But, no. Cas had his principles. He had been so adamantly against even the idea of their reviving Dean that way that both Gail and Sam had caved. So, here they were, together alone, with a huge chasm in all of their lives. But, hey, Cas had his principles to keep him warm.

Gail popped out, and Cas just sat there in anguish. No; not anguish. That word wasn't even close to the way he was feeling right now. Was there a word for the sub-basement of the pits of Hell? Was there an expression that could adequately cover the feeling of having let everyone down so badly that they would never forgive you? And how about the emotion connected with hating yourself this much for doing the right thing? What was that called?

Cas should really go over to the bunker and see Sam. He hadn't seen his friend since the day of Dean's funeral. Cas had been one of the pallbearers, of course. A proper Hunter's funeral had a twist to it; the body was required to be burned on a pyre at its conclusion. Dean had requested four pallbearers: Sam, Cas, Bobby, and Frank. They had borne his body to the back yard of the bunker, held the memorial service, and then applied lit torches to Dean's corpse, two men on each side. And they had all been crying as they had done it.

Just like Cas was crying now. He cried all the time, and Gail was angry all the time. She still let him take her hand and hold her at night, but they rarely even spoke any more, And even when they did, their conversation was more businesslike than anything else. He had tried to talk to her about how sorry he felt, but she had shut him down. He'd gotten his way, she'd said, and now he had to live with the consequences. And she was right, of course, so he'd closed his mouth again.

While Cas sat at home berating himself for having been unable to come up with an alternate way of getting rid of Lucifer, Sam was sitting morosely at the library table in the bunker. Gail had made him a sandwich, but he refused to even touch it.

She was livid. "None of this is going to bring Dean back!" Gail yelled at Sam. He said nothing. They'd had this conversation before, and he hadn't said much then, either. She was right, Sam knew, but he couldn't seem to make himself care. Food tasted like cardboard and paste to Sam without Dean there, shoveling it into his face. Even the sound of peoples' voices sounded wrong here, without Dean's gruff baritone weighing in with a joke or some other kind of a comment.

Gail was done. These guys needed a wake-up call. She popped back to the house and rushed over to where Cas sat, taking him by the hand. "You're coming with me," she told him. She popped them both back to the bunker as Sam looked up, startled. Gail took Cas over to sit beside Sam, and then she stalked over to the library shelves. Rowena's spell book still sat there, neatly filed, because they had promised Cas they wouldn't use it, and he trusted them.

Gail brought the book over to where the two men sat and slammed it on the table between them.

"It's time to decide, once and for all," she told them angrily. "If this is the way it's going to be, let's just burn the damn thing, and move on. But I'm not going to let it come between us anymore. So either destroy it, or open it up to the last page, Cas. Enough is enough. I promise to abide by whatever it is you decide, but we have to do something, you guys. We either have to bring him back, or else we have to let him go."

Cas looked at the book, and then he slowly raised his head to look at Sam. Sam sighed. "I think you know what the right thing to do is, Cas," he said.

Cas frowned. Yes, he did. "Of course I do, Sam," he said sadly. He reached for the book, and his hand hesitated. Then he flipped it open, to the last page.

Gail was standing over the blades, pretending to look at them, but she was really eyeing her husband. Was that the way that things would go? Or would Cas have taken the book and destroyed it? As things stood right now, she was afraid it would probably be the latter. So that was why the deception had to continue. But, with any luck, not for much longer. Please, God. Not for much longer.

CROWLEY - IN THE END

It was the middle of the night now in Lebanon, Kansas. Sam and Dean were pulling an all-nighter, wanting to soak up every minute of brotherly togetherness. They had checked into a motel and were sitting at the small table in the room, drinking beer and reminiscing.

There was no sense of night or day in Hell, of course, but the King wore a watch, and he was keeping an eye on the time. Dawn was only a few hours away, and soon enough, Castiel would send out the call.

It was funny, really. In a few short hours, Dean Winchester was going to be dead, and Crowley was examining his feelings about it. Turning them over and over in his mind, as one would look at a Rubik's cube. Figuring out how to solve it, or if you even wanted to try.

Crowley and the Winchesters went back a ways. Funnily enough, he had actually known them longer than Castiel had. They had been natural adversaries from the start, yet every time Crowley turned around, he had been thrown together with them, reluctant allies brought about by circumstances. He and Dean had even been friends, when Dean had had the Mark of Cain. Well, if you could call what they had done together friendship, of course. Crowley did, but Demons had a slightly skewed view of such things.

So Dean was going to die, Sam was going to kill him, and the Angels were just going to sit back and let it happen. And even if Crowley were inclined to want to do something about it, their Father had built in the failsafe. The Tablet stated that Crowley would not be allowed to revive Dean. Maybe God had known how ambivalent the King was going to feel about Dean's death. Truthfully, Crowley didn't understand why their Father required this blood sacrifice to build another cage in which to house Lucifer. It hadn't been needed the first time. Who had written those Tablets, anyway? Metatron swore up and down that those particular slabs of stone were not his work. But if not the Scribe's, then whose?

The alarm on his watch beeped. One more hour. Crowley went to the safe in his office and spun the combination lock. It opened, and he took his blade out. He didn't usually travel around with it. With his powers, he didn't need it. But it would be all hands on deck today, and when you were doing battle with the Devil, it was best to come armed to the teeth. He stashed the blade in his inside jacket pocket and returned to his desk after closing the safe.

FRANK - THE STRONG ONE

Sam and Dean rolled into the garage at the bunker just before dawn. "Go ahead in, Sammy," Dean said to his brother. "I just want to look at my Baby for another minute. Say a private goodbye. She'll be yours, soon. You'd better take good care of her, or I'll come back as a vengeful ghost and kick your ass."

Frank was sitting up in the kitchen, having coffee. He hadn't been able to sleep. The Angels had been in the library looking at the knives, and now they were getting the Tablets out of the safe, preparing for what was supposed to happen this morning. He didn't want to watch that, so he'd come here and put a pot of coffee on. Maybe Sam and Dean would want some when they got in. Maybe Frank could have one last drink with both brothers. It wasn't the kind of drink he wanted to have with them, but it would have to do.

Sam came in through the door from the garage and he looked at Frank, surprised. Frank shrugged. "Jody's snoring was keeping me awake," he quipped.

Sam crossed over to the coffeemaker and got himself a mug from the cupboard, pouring himself a cup. "How's she doing?" he asked Frank.

Gail's brother shrugged again. "Better than me," he stated bluntly. But that wasn't entirely true. His wife had been complaining that she felt tired all the time, and just generally unwell. After this travesty was over, he was going to put her in the car and drive her to the doctor himself. It would give him something to do, anyway.

"Where are Cas and Gail?" Sam asked, sipping at his coffee.

"In the library, getting the stuff together," Frank replied. As Sam nodded, Frank had a question of his own: "Where's Dean?"

"Still in the garage, making love to his Baby one more time," Sam responded.

Frank turned around in his seat. "What's the matter with you?" he asked Sam curiously. "You're being way too stoic about this."

"I'm going to see Cas and Gail," Sam said evasively. He left the kitchen as Frank rolled his eyes. Great. Sam was going to go see the Angels. And why not? He was starting to talk like them. But it was Dean who was gonna be an Angel soon, if God was merciful. Then, how come everybody was so calm? Frank had butterflies in his stomach as big as pterodactyls, but he seemed to be the only one. Still, it was in his nature to be the strong one. He had been that guy for Gail all those years, and now, he had a whole family to be strong for.

Dean entered the kitchen, and he had a half-smile on his face. He'd spent a bittersweet couple of minutes with his hand on Baby, remembering all of the moments he'd had with the car, both good and bad. He'd patted her fondly and told her to take care of Sammy for him. Then he'd turned away, putting the keys in his top jacket pocket. He'd have to remember to give them to Sam before...well, before.

Frank's heart skipped a beat, but he had promised himself that he would act normally, so he said, "What are you smirking about?"

"Nothing a Neanderthal like you would understand," Dean replied, still smiling.

"Me caveman. Me carry big club," Frank grunted, playing along.

"I've seen you in the mens' room; don't flatter yourself," Dean wisecracked.

Frank rolled his eyes. "Just my luck. That's the funniest thing you've ever said, and now you're taking off before I can think of a good retort."

"Always leave 'em laughing," Dean said, shrugging. Then he approached Gail's brother. "Well, I'd better get going. Have a shake with me, Frank," Dean said, extending his hand.

Frank stood. "Screw that," he said. He pulled Dean in for a hug.

"In case I don't see you, take good care of that family of yours," Dean said, embracing Frank. "And that sister of yours, too. I'm glad Cas brought you back, man. You're my brother from another mother."

Frank choked back a sob, and Dean came out of the hug, looking at Frank's face. "Aww now, don't do that," Dean said.

"Do me a favour?" Frank said, trying to collect himself. "Tell Cas to kick Lucifer's ass. That guy's gotta go. He's taken way too much from us as it is. And if he kidnaps Gail one more time, we're gonna have to print up a card for him to get stamped. Like one of those frequent buyer deals. He's like the cliche bad guy in those old-time-y movies, twirling his moustache and tying her to the railroad tracks."

Dean favoured him with a thin smile. He knew what Frank was doing now, and he blessed him for it. "I know, right?" Dean answered in kind. "I always wondered about that. Why doesn't the bad guy just kill the good guy right away in the movies, instead of just talking and talking?"

"Yeah," Frank agreed enthusiastically. "They just blather on, giving away their whole evil plan, and the good guy always has time to get away."

"And then, the bad guy bitches about it," Dean added. "'I should have killed you when I had the chance', he says. Well, duh! Of course you should have! When I see Metatron, I'm gonna tell him: don't ever put that in one of your scripts."

The two men smiled at each other for a moment and then Dean clapped Frank on the shoulder. "Good deal," he said. This was how he wanted to remember his friend.

He turned around and walked down the hall.

GAIL - IN TOO DEEP

Sam had taken Lucifer's blade out of the safe, and he had it in his jacket pocket now. It was still wrapped in Dean's jacket. Cas had cautioned Sam that he'd better not hold the knife in his bare hand until the appropriate time, and Sam had nodded. There was no sense taking any chances.

The Angels were going to go on ahead and summon Crowley and Metatron to the coordinates of the churchyard. They had picked a countryside church, with a large field behind it, not unlike the bunker's. There was an old cemetery there with a few tombstones, and then the empty field behind that. They had researched the hours of the services, and the place should be deserted. Once Crowley and Metatron arrived, Gail was going to pop back to the bunker and start bringing the Tablets over. Allies or not, there was no way Cas was going to leave Gail alone with those two. So she would bring the Tablets, she and Cas would set them up as directed, and then she would go back and get Sam and Dean.

It had occurred to the Angels the night before that they had no idea how they were supposed to get Lucifer to come to the site, so they had studied the markings on the Hell Tablet again. Crowley and Metatron had omitted the last two lines of the instructions. While it had been entirely possible that Cas hadn't given them the chance to finish by winking himself and Gail away so quickly that time, Cas wasn't taking any chances. He was going to keep a very close eye on the two of them.

The final two lines advised that Lucifer's blade would call to him, and he would have no choice but to go to it. As soon as Sam held it aloft and the sun's rays glinted on the metal, Lucifer would appear. Then Sam would stab Dean with the Devil's blade, and the cage would materialize. The four Originals would then engage with Lucifer, forcing him into the newly reconstructed cage.

That all sounded as if it should work, Gail was thinking now as she lined the Tablets up in their cases for transport. As a blueprint, if she were to look at it objectively and discount the fact that Dean was going to have to die, it seemed pretty straight-ahead. But when did things ever go smoothly for them?

Assuming that all did go according to plan, however, she supposed that Crowley would transport a newly imprisoned Lucifer back to Hell, Metatron would go back to Vancouver, and she and Cas and Sam would take Dean's body back to the bunker in preparation for his funeral. Or, more accurately, his memorial service. Dean had made it quite plain that he didn't want a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth. He wanted everyone to dress in T-shirts and jeans, classic rock to be played, and alcohol to be consumed in copious amounts. In short, he wanted his memorial to be the kind of party he would have enjoyed if he were there. Which he would be, of course, in a way.

But Dean's body would not. Prior to the burning of the corpse, Sam and Gail were going to perform some sleight-of-hand and substitute Dean's body with another. They were going to need Dean's bones for the spell. So they were going to have to hide him somewhere, she supposed. Then, when the ceremony was over and everyone had cleared out, Gail was going to tell Cas to go up to Heaven and get the necessary paperwork from Laurel to begin his participation in the elections process. Cas would be eager to do that, because the sooner they got the ball rolling there, the sooner Dean could be rescued from the Garden, from Cas's viewpoint.

That was the way Cas was looking at it, anyway. He was relying on his faith, reasoning that their Father had a back-up plan. But Gail's approach was a lot more cynical than that. The Good Lord helped those who helped themselves, was her philosophy. And just because the spell came from Rowena's book didn't automatically make it evil, in her opinion. She and Sam were motivated by love for Dean, and in Gail's mind, that made it OK. Sam had what they'd grimly joked as the Malcolm X philosophy: By whatever means necessary. He didn't care what he had to do; he was getting his brother back. And that was why he was able to be so calm now. There was not a doubt in Sam's mind that they were going to get Dean back. Not even one.

"Is everyone ready?" Cas asked.

LUCIFER - HOW DO YOU TALK TO AN ANGEL

Lucifer's head snapped up. His blade! The Angels had his blade.

This was it. The Big Showdown. Gunfight at the OK Corral. He started to grin. Everybody, put your cards on the table and unzip your pants. Time to finally see whose was the biggest.

An instant later, he appeared in the field behind the church. Lucifer's eyes took in the scene. The five Tablets, forming the points of a star just beyond the cemetery. The four other Originals, standing around the circle. And Sam and Dean Winchester inside the circle, Lucifer's blade in Sam's hand.

Suddenly, a great windstorm began to blow. It picked up the dirt and weeds in the field, and the debris shot out in the direction of the Originals.

"Shield your eyes!" Castiel shouted. He threw his arms out in front of him and then waved them to the side, and his blue beams deflected the debris. Then he waved his arms again, and the wind stopped.

"Good for you, Castiel. You've finally learned how to control it," Lucifer said calmly. Then he smiled. "Well, isn't this something. Very Biblical. Tablets, Original Angels, modern-day Cain and Abel, in reverse. Way to go, you guys. All the elements are here. Look at you, Castiel. Look how fearsome you are. You think you're God already, don't you? Ready to wreak a little righteous vengeance on me, I trust? And your lovely little wife. How are you, honey? You must be looking forward to this. Serves me right, doesn't it? And, Metatron. My old cellmate. How're they hanging? Have you written this scene for your movie yet? Yeah, that's right. I know all about it. Spoiler alert: all of you die at the end. And, Your Majesty. I guess the mystery of whose side you're really on has finally been solved. Here, have some holy water, on me."

Lucifer flicked his hand in Crowley's direction and suddenly, a tidal wave of water rose up from the dust, heading directly for the King. But Crowley raised his blade and a red beam shot out from it, parting the water. It landed harmlessly on either side of him, then dried up instantly.

"Armani," Crowley said, gesturing to his suit. He smirked. "Dry clean only."

"So, Father gave you the ability to part the waters, did He?" Lucifer said to Crowley. "That's hilarious."

"I thought so, too," Crowley replied, his casual tone matching Lucifer's.

"Well, I have to admit I thought you were going to be on my side," the Devil said, "but that's OK. It'll just make my victory that much more epic. And yes, I didn't exactly expect you to be here, Metatron. But I guess I can kind of see it. After all, to know me is to hate me, right? And we did spend a lot of time together in an intimate setting, didn't we?"

Then Lucifer looked at Sam and Dean. "Wow. I can't believe they talked you guys into this. Sammy, your therapy bills are gonna be huge, going forward. Or, you could just check yourself back into the mental hospital and avoid the middleman. And, Dean? Are you ever taking a chance, here. With your track record, I'd say Heaven's a long shot."

"Do it, Sam," Cas said through clenched teeth.

But Sam hesitated. Lucifer had gotten in his head now. What if their plan didn't work? He glanced over at Gail. Cas missed it, because his eyes were focused on Lucifer. But Lucifer saw it, and he grinned. "What are you looking at her for, Sam? She's your friend's wife, or didn't you get the memo? Unless...are the two of you sneaking around behind Castiel's back? Oh, please tell me that you are. That would be excellent! I always knew Gail was a little slut, deep down. I knew she liked her men big, but this is ridiculous. Hey, Cas, I could find out for you, if you want." Lucifer started walking towards the spot where Sam and Dean were standing, inside the five-pointed star of the Tablets. "I'll tell you what," Lucifer continued, extending his arm slowly. "I'll use the two-finger system on Sam to find out. That's what you call it, isn't that right, Gail? Then I'll find out for sure, Cas. I'll see what kinds of disgusting thoughts he's got in his head about your wife, just before I fry his brain. Then you can decide if you want to bother killing him."

"Do it now, Sam!" Cas shouted. But still, Sam hesitated. Lucifer had reached the outer edge of the Tablets now. A couple more steps and he would be inside the circle. "Give me back my blade," Lucifer snarled.

"Do it," Dean said to his brother. "It's OK, Sammy. It'll be OK."

"I love you, Dean," Sam said, and the knife came down.

METATRON - WE COULD BE HEROES

As soon as Sam stabbed Dean in the chest, all hell broke loose.

Lucifer was thrown backwards, away from the brothers, as if he had touched a highly charged electric fence. He yelled in surprise and pain.

Dean collapsed onto the ground. Sam pulled the knife out of his brother's chest and, as he did, Dean's blood flew off the blade and sprayed onto the Tablets. The stone of the Tablets began to liquefy, and the pools that were created ran together off to the side, where the Originals stood. The liquid rose from the ground and began to form a square. Then it started to crisscross, forming lattice for the bars of the cage.

Sam fell to his knees sobbing, holding his brother in his arms. Cas and Gail glanced at him with compassion, but they had a job to do now. Cas took the candlesticks out from his inside jacket pocket. He held one and passed the other to Gail. The Angels had their blades in their other hands, and Crowley and Metatron held theirs as all four of them moved to where Lucifer lay on the ground.

"Get in the cage, or die," Castiel said. "Your choice."

Lucifer looked at him dispassionately. "Your dialogue needs work, Cas. Maybe Metatron could help you with that." He rose slowly from the ground. "So, here we are," Lucifer said to the group. "Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Cas said, almost cheerfully. He extended the candlestick towards Lucifer. "But since you don't like my dialogue, I'll let this do my talking for me."

Lucifer was backing away from him, but suddenly, Gail was behind the Devil, holding out her own candlestick. "You're done," she told him. "Get in that cage. Now."

"Has anybody ever told you that you're bossy?" Lucifer said to Gail, but he was cringing. "Does she use that tone at home with you, Cas?"

The Angels were too close, and the power emanating from the candlesticks was too strong, so Lucifer winked over to the cemetery just outside the church. He'd tried to leave the site but had found himself unable to. Whatever force had been created by the chain of events was obviously strong enough to bind him to the hallowed ground. But then, he'd known that would be the case all along, hadn't he?

Crowley moved forward now. "You're extremely lucky," he told Lucifer, brandishing his blade. "If it was up to me, I would just kill you, and have done with it."

"Then why don't you?" Lucifer scoffed. "Oh, that's right. You can't. You may be powerful, but you're not me." He threw his arms out, and Crowley went staggering backwards. Then Lucifer started to move his arms again but stopped dramatically, mid-gesture. "Today's your lucky day. You may be useful to me. Therefore, I'll let you live," Lucifer said to Crowley. He waggled a couple of fingers and Crowley went sailing through the graveyard, and onto the back steps of the church. His blade went flying out of his hand, making a clattering sound.

"There. You can be first in line for confession," Lucifer shouted. "With your history, they'll need the extra time." He grinned. That had been pretty funny, actually.

And now here came little Gail, with her weapons in hand and a determined look on her face. God, she was cute. "Look at you, peeing with the big dogs," Lucifer said fondly. "I'm really going to hate to have to kill you. You've been a lot of fun." Before she got too close, Lucifer waved his arms and knocked her back. She kept her feet, but both the candlestick and her blade went flying out of her hands.

"Any touching last words for your husband, before I squash you like a bug?" Lucifer asked Gail, raising his arm again. The green beam shot out.

"No! I won't let you!" Metatron exclaimed. He jumped in front of Gail, taking the hit in the middle of his chest. He fell to the ground as Gail glared at Lucifer. She raised her arms, and the golden beams came out. But they couldn't touch Lucifer, and then she realized: he was shielded. Crap. She bent down and grabbed Metatron by one arm, winking him behind one of the tombstones in the graveyard. "Stay there till you recover," she said to him, but he clutched at her.

"I'm not going to recover," Metatron said in a strangled voice. "My organs are shutting down."

"Then smoke out," Gail said. "You can use me or Cas until we can get you a new vessel."

"No," he said, clutching at her again. "This is my atonement. That's the way I wrote it, and that's the way it has to be. I owed you, Gail. For Vegas, and for that whole Demon delusion thing. And I owed Cas too. And, let's face it, I owe the whole human race. I'm sorry, Gail. I'm so very, very sorry. Be kind to each other."

Then he closed his eyes, and then, he died.

"Stay there!" Cas yelled at Gail. He was advancing on Lucifer now, gripping his blade and the candlestick with white-knuckled hands. He was enraged. If it hadn't been for Metatron's sacrifice, Gail would be dead right now. Cas knew that Metatron was dead, because he had felt the light of an Original extinguishing. Thank God he could see Gail now, or he would have been terrified that it was her.

"He's got the shielding up!" she shouted back. "Throw me my blade!"

Lucifer threw his arms out in Cas's direction, but luckily, Cas had bent down at that same moment to pick Gail's blade up from the ground, so Lucifer's salvo passed right over him. Gail breathed a sigh of relief. Cas began to straighten up. "Throw it!" she shouted again. "Throw it, so I can break the shielding!"

As Cas rose to his full height, the green beam of light that Lucifer had hurled at him bounced off the cage with a loud PING! sound. It ricocheted off the metal and hit Cas in the back, knocking him to his knees. He had been in the act of throwing Gail's blade to her, and his toss fell short. She ran out from behind the tombstone to pick it up.

Cas tried to shout to her to take cover, but he couldn't seem to catch his breath, all of a sudden. He clutched at his chest as Lucifer advanced on him.

The Devil began to smile slowly. "The great Castiel, on his knees in front of me. Wow. It's about time," he said gleefully. "Maybe if you worship me while you're down there, I'll let your wife live. She can be one of my concubines. But don't worry, Cas. It won't be so bad. I plan to have a huge harem." He moved his hand, and slash marks began to appear on Cas's arms, neck, and face. "See, I don't need my blade," Lucifer sneered. "I can take care of you with one hand tied behind my back. What's the matter, Cas? Feeling a little short of breath, there?"

Castiel was lightheaded, gasping for air. He could feel the pain of all the cuts that Lucifer was inflicting on him, but those didn't bother him as much as the feeling that he was drowning in oxygen. And Lucifer's shot had been deflected, thereby losing some impact. Imagine if it had hit him full-on. Metatron must have died in utter agony.

Gail was advancing on Lucifer from behind him, eroding his shield with the golden rays coming out of her blade. It was working, slowly, but he was still approaching her husband, and still inflicting wounds on him. She had to get Lucifer's attention away from Cas.

"Hey!" she yelled at the Devil. "You want me for your harem? Well, I'm right here! Come and get me!"

Lucifer stopped walking and rolled his eyes. "I'll be with you in a minute, honey. The men are talking right now." He turned around and flicked his arm, blasting her off her feet. The wind was knocked out of her, but she continued to train her blade on Lucifer from the ground, thinning out the shielding around him.

The temporary distraction had enabled Cas to make a bit of a recovery. His breathing had improved enough now for him to be able to stagger to his feet, and he threw a couple of blue rays at Lucifer to get the Devil's attention away from Gail.

"There, that's better," Lucifer said. "At least you're putting up a bit of a fight now. Do you want a few more seconds, Cas?" He waved his hand, opening up some more cuts on Cas's body. "Oops. Did I do that?"

Cas plodded forward stubbornly. The candlestick and his blade had dropped from his hands when he'd been knocked down, but he couldn't worry about those now. He had seen the shield around Lucifer cracking as Gail kept up the pressure with her golden beams. Cas prayed silently for her to continue what she was doing. Another minute ought to do it. She was so brave. The cuts that Lucifer was inflicting on Castiel were painful, of course, but they were nothing he hadn't experienced before, many times. But that shortness of breath, that sinking, drowning feeling? That had definitely been new. Thank God the force of the blow had been slowed down by the cage. And bless Gail for buying Cas those extra few seconds to regroup.

But Lucifer had drawn himself up to his full height now, and his arms were waving faster. A cut opened up on Cas's forehead and the blood that spurted from it ran into Cas's eye, impairing his vision. His next couple of shots missed Lucifer altogether. The Devil threw his head back and laughed out loud, creating a booming sound that made the birds that were flying overhead fall dead from the sky.

Gail was on her hands and knees now, and she could see that Cas was flagging. She had to do something. Yelling for Lucifer's attention wouldn't be good enough; he could just keep knocking her down with one hand and attacking Cas with the other. She looked at the birds falling dead on the ground, and then the idea hit her.

She ran to the church steps where Crowley lay, still dazed from Lucifer's attack. "Make me an animal!" she exclaimed. "A lion, or a tiger! A big one!"

He looked at her blankly, and then he started to smile. "Good thinking, sweetheart," Crowley said approvingly. "Here, help me sit up."

Gail knelt down by his side. She put her hand on his back and helped him sit up.

"I didn't need the help, it was just an excuse to have you touch me," Crowley smirked.

Gail rolled her eyes. "Oh, har har. Make with the cat, quick."

Crowley waved his arms and conjured up a large white tiger. "Nice touch," Gail said, nudging him. She waved her hands at the beast, "Go get the Devil," Gail said to it. The tiger roared, and then it bounded over to where Lucifer stood, leaping on his back.

Lucifer was knocked off balance, and he fell to the ground. The tiger pounced on him, its huge jaws snapping at his neck. But then Lucifer snapped his fingers and the tiger exploded, sending blood and bits of flesh flying.

Cas was even bloodier now because he'd been standing so close, and now Lucifer was covered in blood, as well. But it was Cas who had all the injuries, and Lucifer was sitting up now.

"Come on, let's get him," Gail said to Crowley, tugging on his arm.

"I don't think so, sweetheart," he said to her, shaking his head.

"What? What do you mean?" she exclaimed.

He nodded towards the graveyard, where Metatron's body lay. "That's not going to be me," he told her. "I'm much more selfish than that."

"Yes, you are, and you're a coward, too!" Gail shouted angrily. She let go of him and rose to her feet. "Fine! Who needs you? Why don't you just go back to Hell, then?"

Gail ran towards where Cas and Lucifer were facing off. But even as she did so, she wondered what the hell they were supposed to do now. They'd thrown everything they had at Lucifer, and he didn't have a scratch on him. She didn't think he'd even broken a sweat. Still, there was no way she was going down without a fight. She waved her blade at him a few more times, and the shielding finally broke.

"Well, good for you," Lucifer sneered. "Finally, a useful skill. Although, I was going to ask you to clean me up, too. This mess is your fault," he added, indicating the blood all over himself. "Charlie Sheen would probably like all this tiger blood, but I don't think it's a good look for me." Lucifer looked at Cas, and then back at Gail again. "See, this is what happens when you send Angels to do a job. If you had just killed me right away instead of trying to put me back in the cage, none of this would be happening. Now Dean Winchester is dead, and so is Metatron, and I'm about to take over everything." Lucifer waved his hands dramatically, inflicting wounds on the husband and wife. "Scoot over there and take Cas's hand, honey," Lucifer said to Gail. "Never let it be said that I don't have compassion."

Cas and Gail moved together. They were both doing their best to fend off his blows and inflict some damage of their own, but Lucifer was able to defend himself easily, and they were becoming weaker with every blow he landed.

Still, they were trying to put up a brave front. Cas was attempting to push Gail behind him now, blocking Lucifer's salvos with his body. "You're taking over nothing," Cas said to Lucifer, but Cas was grimacing in pain now.

"Really?" Lucifer said, smiling. "And who's going to stop me?"

"I am," Sam said. He pressed the golden candlesticks into Lucifer's back, and the Devil screamed in pain. He whirled around. "Sammy! My old bum-buddy!" Lucifer exclaimed. "How's Dean? Awwww. Too soon?" He snapped his fingers, and the candlesticks fell out of Sam's hands. "That's fine. I can take on all three of you," Satan said, shrugging. He waved his hand again and Sam fell to his knees, bleeding from his eyes and ears.

"This is too easy," Lucifer taunted them. "Too bad there's nobody here that's more capable of putting up a fight."

"Maybe there is," Crowley said. He suddenly appeared in front of Lucifer, stabbing the Devil in the stomach with the back-up blade he'd stashed in his other pocket before he'd left Hell. "Oh, look at that. Somebody's sprung a leak." Crowley looked down at Sam. "Hand me his blade, would you, Moose? There's a good lad." Not waiting for a response, he took the blade from Sam's pocket. Crowley looked up at Lucifer, one Angel blade in each of his hands. "You were right," Crowley said to him. "Never send an Angel to do a Demon's job." He plunged Lucifer's own blade into his chest, all the way up to the hilt. "That's for making me get blood on my suit," Crowley quipped.

Lucifer was livid. He reached out and grabbed Crowley by his throat. "You little troll," he rasped. "I'm going to do what our Father should have done to you years ago, and then I'm gonna do it to your Brother, too. God should have just put Eve on the Pill." He started to choke Crowley, and because the King's airway was blocked, Crowley couldn't smoke out.

But while Lucifer was occupied with trying to choke the life out of Crowley, Cas and Gail gave each other a nod. They rushed forward, waving their arms, and hit Lucifer with both barrels. The Devil's hold on Crowley lessened, and the King of Hell stepped back, coughing. He looked at Cas. "Here," Crowley said. He reached into his inside pocket and took out Cas's blade. "I believe you dropped something." He handed the blade to Cas, who gave him a nod. Cas took the blade and stuck Lucifer in the side with it, pulling upwards to create a larger wound.

As the Devil roared in pain and fury, Crowley handed Gail the Demon knife he'd stashed in his other pocket before he had left Hell. Just in case. "Don't ever call me the c-word again," Crowley quipped, and she flashed him a grin. She took the knife and stuck it in Lucifer's other side, pulling upwards as Cas had done.

Lucifer fell to his knees. "All right, all right," he pleaded, throwing his hands up in supplication. "I'll go in the cage."

"Oh, NOW you're willing to go in the cage," Cas said sarcastically. He slashed at Lucifer with his blade. "Well, maybe it's too late for that. Maybe my Brother had the right idea all along."

"I could give you anything you want," Lucifer said to Cas. "Anything. I could make Gail immortal."

"She already is, you assbutt," Cas retorted. Sam was rising slowly to his feet now, and the younger Winchester made a sound that was a half-laugh, half-sob. "That was for Dean," Cas added, "and so is this." He stabbed Lucifer again.

Gail stabbed Lucifer with the Demon knife. "So is this, and it's also for the thousands of people you killed, just because you felt like it."

Lucifer looked up at her, squinting through the blood that was now running down his face. "I could tell you who your real parents are, and help you deal with your father," Lucifer said to her, trying to grin. "You think I"M a son of a bitch? You have no idea."

She slashed at him again. "I'll find that out without your help," she said harshly. "Caging is too good for you."

"Now you're talking, sweetheart," Crowley said, nodding his approval to her. He looked down at Lucifer, holding his Brother's blade high. "Well? What are you going to offer ME?" Crowley asked sardonically. "And I'm warning you, it had better be good."

"I can give you the secrets of the Tablets," Lucifer pleaded with the King.

"I can bloody well read, you know," Crowley snapped. But then, he remembered that the stone Tablets had been destroyed during the construction of the cage. Then he shrugged. "Who cares? You'll be gone, anyway. That's the point of this whole exercise."

"How about the Books?" Lucifer wheedled. "Surely you're interested in the Books."

"The Books?" Crowley repeated. "What Books?"

"THE Books," Lucifer replied. "The Book of Life, and the Book of the Dead."

Crowley's arm paused in its downward motion. "What have the Tablets got to do with those?" he asked the Devil.

"Spare me, and you'll find out," Lucifer countered.

Cas waved his blade, gesturing. "He doesn't know anything about the Books. He's just saying that so we'll let him live."

"No, I'm not. I swear," Lucifer whined. He looked from Demon to Angel and back again. "There are clues on those Tablets, clues on how to find the Books."

"Oh, how would you know?" Cas said irritably.

"I know because I'm the one who wrote the Tablets in the first place!" Lucifer exclaimed.

Now Cas paused. He was astonished. Was that true?

"It's the truth, I swear, my Brothers," Lucifer told them. "Metatron wasn't the original Scribe of God. I was. When our Father banished me, He picked Metatron to finish the job. But by then, I'd already written those Tablets. When God confiscated my blade, He told me that if I ever got free, it and those Tablets would some day be my undoing. So you see, I know all about the ancient writings. Whoever holds the Books holds the key to it all."

Crowley was thinking about that now. He glanced over at the cage. "Perhaps we should reconsider the original plan," he said to the Angels.

"I see that look in your eyes," Castiel said to the King. "No. You're not getting your hands on those Books."

"Oh, and I suppose we'd all be better off if they were in YOUR hands?" Crowley scoffed. "You don't do very well with that kind of power, or have you forgotten?"

Gail rolled her eyes. Great. As if they didn't have enough problems, now the two of them were arguing.

But Lucifer was grinning now. This was more like it. If he could pit the brothers against each other, he might just get out of this, yet.

"I'll work for whichever of you wants it the most," Lucifer said slyly, looking from one man to the other. "Come on, Crowley, stick that Angel blade in Castiel now, while you have the chance. Look what you've done to me. You're on a roll. Then you can be the Alpha. You can kill Gail too, or screw her, if you want. We all know you've always wanted to do that."

"No, how about if we just kill YOU, instead?" Sam yelled. "Then maybe you'll finally just shut the hell up!"

The Angels and the Demon gaped at Sam. While they had been preoccupied with Lucifer's manipulations, the younger Winchester had been looking around wildly, trying to figure out what to do to help them. He was only a human, and they all had otherworldly powers, yet Lucifer was still breathing. And the longer the Devil talked, the more danger there was that he could regain the upper hand. Sam had run over to the church to see if there was anything he could grab there that hadn't been tried yet, to use as a weapon. Then he saw it. There was a statue near the front steps of the building. A statue of an Angel, holding a sword. How ironic was that? He ran to it and, to his amazement, he was able to detach the sword from the sculpture, using just his hands. A little divine intervention, maybe?

Sam grabbed the sword and ran back over to where the group was. He heard Lucifer exhorting Crowley to kill Cas, and Sam was enraged. They'd already lost Dean today; there was no way they were losing Cas, too. Sam didn't care if Crowley had helped them out a minute ago; he didn't like the look of cool speculation on Crowley's face when he was looking at Cas with an Angel blade in his hand.

So Sam shouted in anger and strode forward, gripping the sword tightly in both hands. He swung with all his might and chopped Lucifer's head off at the neck. It went flying in the direction of the cage. As soon as the decapitated head struck the cage's bars, the cage collapsed, and Lucifer's head and body disappeared.

The surviving quartet stood there for a moment, stunned, weapons in hand. Cas and Gail were glaring at Crowley. He lowered Lucifer's blade and gave them a half-shrug. "I never said I was going to bloody DO it," the King mumbled irritably. Castiel held his hand out, and Crowley stared at it. "What?" he said.

"Give me the blade," Cas said. Gail picked up her own blade and waved her hand, cleaning it and putting it in her pocket. Then she stooped to pick up Metatron's blade off the ground and did the same thing with it, and with the Demon knife that Crowley had handed to her to stab Lucifer with.

"I think not," Crowley said. He was looking around for his own blade now. He saw it lying on the ground, close to the church steps. He snapped his fingers, and it was in his hand. He looked at Lucifer's dirty blade with distaste but put it and his own blade in his inside jacket pocket, along with the back-up blade. "Well, it's been...interesting," Crowley said. He looked at Sam. "Believe it or not, I am very sorry about Dean. You have my condolences. I'm sure I'll be seeing you all again though, very soon." He snapped his fingers again and disappeared.

Gail ran over to where Dean lay on the battlefield. She fell to her knees and moved her hands over his body, but it was too late, of course. She cried out in frustration. How unfair was that? Dean was dead, Metatron was dead, Lucifer was gone, and the cage they'd worked so hard and sacrificed so much to build was laying in a broken heap on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Gail sobbed over his body. Sam and Cas came over to where she was, and they looked at each other. "I'll be right back," Cas said quietly. He popped over to where Metatron's body lay behind the tombstone, but it was gone, too. Then he heard a noise, and he looked up to see the remnants of the cage disintegrating.

Meanwhile, Sam had dropped the bloody sword on the ground and he put his hands on Gail's shoulders, bringing her to her feet. He put his arms around her, hugging her to him, and they cried together, seeking comfort from each other. Cas came over to where they stood and picked up the sword, inspecting it. Even though Sam had decapitated Lucifer with it, the sword was inexplicably clean of any blood. Castiel popped back over to the church steps and replaced the sword in the Angel's hand, then returned to where his wife and their friend stood. Only then did Cas look down at Dean. A tear squeezed out of his eye and rolled down his cheek. He bent down, picking Dean's body gently up off the ground. "Let's get you home," Cas said to his friend softly. Then he and Gail winked the Winchesters away from there.

Richard finished reading the scene that Ted had e-mailed to him and sat back in his chair, awestruck. He actually had goosebumps. This was Ted's finest work yet. Richard could picture the whole scene in his mind. He was already thinking about camera angles. This was going to be the most dramatic, ambitious scene they had ever filmed. It had everything. Action, drama, suspense, blood, and tears. Ted was a master. Dean couldn't stay dead, of course, but Richard found himself wondering what Ted had in mind to bring him back. Metatron hadn't written that scene yet when he'd departed for Madagascar. He had figured he could cross that bridge when he came back. Unlike Gail, Metatron hadn't sorted that plot twist out yet. But he'd thought that there would be time. The first movie was only in post-production.

Richard reached for his phone to call Ted and congratulate him, and then he remembered that the writer's message had advised that he would be unavailable this morning. Still, the producer tapped out a quick message on his computer congratulating Ted and advising him not to change a single thing about the scene. It was perfect. Then Richard closed the laptop.


	3. Funeral For A Friend

Chapter 3 - Funeral For A Friend

As the guests gathered outside, Sam and Gail were talking quietly in the bunker.

"Oh my God, this is the most morbid thing I've ever done," she said to him.

"I wish I could say the same thing," Sam said wryly. He finished wrapping Dean's body in the shroud he had fashioned. "I called in every favour I had with this guy. We can leave him in the morgue for a week. I'm gonna swap him out for a homeless guy, who died of exposure to the elements. They didn't know what they were going to do with the body, since he had no ID and no known next of kin. So in a way, we're doing them a favour by burning it."

Gail shook her head slowly. Yikes. What they were doing was unbelievable. But it was necessary. It was unpleasant to think about, but realistically, Dean's body had to be kept cold until they could work out the spell, because they would need his original bones to be intact. But they also needed a body to burn at the wake, because everyone needed to believe that they were burning Dean's body.

"Hurry up, Sam," Gail urged him. "Cas is going to come looking for me any minute now."

"OK," Sam said. He hefted Dean's body into his arms, and Gail winked them over to the police station. They appeared in the alleyway behind the property. Sam set Dean gently down on the ground and called his contact on his cell phone. Then the man came down to the side door of the building and let them in, sneaking them into the basement.

"Thanks, man," Sam said to the Officer, and the man nodded curtly. "Just make sure you keep your mouth shut about this, Sam," he said. "I'm breaking every rule there is for you."

"And I really appreciate it," Sam said earnestly.

The policeman opened the drawer. "Are you OK from here?" he asked anxiously. "I'm supposed to be on phone duty right now."

"Sure, don't worry about it," Sam assured him. The Officer glanced curiously at Gail, but he left the room quickly, with no comment.

So they had made the switch and were back in Dean's room now, wrapping the homeless man's body, when Cas came in the room. Sam had just finished covering the man's head with the hood, tying it shut around the neck with a knot so it wouldn't slip.

"I think everyone is here now," Cas told them. He walked up to his wife and took her hand. "Are the two of you all right?" Cas asked, his forehead wrinkled with concern.

Gail and Sam exchanged a glance. Ever since they'd gotten back to the bunker, that was all that he'd been asking them. It was sweet, and heartbreaking, and it was getting on Gail's nerves. Every time Cas asked them that, her conscience tugged at her. Cas's eyes were so sad. The light had gone out of them. He had bustled around the bunker helping Bobby and Frank make the arrangements for the memorial service, leaving Gail to spend time with Sam, ostensibly to take care of him. She'd told Cas that Sam was too grief-stricken to deal with any arrangements, and that she would make sure that Dean's brother ate and rested regularly, and Cas had agreed that whatever helped Sam get through this was what they needed to do.

Gail's heart hurt for Cas, and for Frank and Jody, and Bobby, and Nicole. Anyone, really, who had loved Dean. She'd been so focused on their scheme to get him back that she hadn't stopped to realize how many people Dean mattered to. When they went outside to the back yard of the bunker, she was astonished at the number of the people who were seated there.

She and Cas walked down the middle aisle together, like some grotesque version of a wedding procession. Sam had stayed behind in Dean's room with the corpse, telling Cas that he wanted a final couple of minutes alone with his brother. In reality, he just wanted to check the wrapping on the body one more time, just to make sure there would be no unforeseen accidents. As far as everyone else was concerned, this man was Dean.

Cas seated Gail in the front row beside Frank, Jody, Rob, and Bobby. Nicole was seated in the aisle. There were two empty seats between her and Gail, where Cas and Sam would sit.

But right now, Cas gestured to Frank and Bobby. They rose from their seats and followed Cas silently back up the aisle.

Gail looked at Nicole. She was sitting up straight in her chair, staring stoically ahead. Gail's heart went out to her. If there had been anyone besides Cas that she and Sam would have considered telling, it was Nicole. But in the end, they had vetoed the idea. She was grieving now, but if they told her what they had in mind and it didn't work, or turned out wrong somehow, it would be even worse. It would be hard enough on them, without putting her through it, too. Nobody was really sure exactly what the nature of Dean's relationship with Nicole was, but Gail could see that the woman's eyes were red from crying.

"How are you doing, Nicole?" Gail asked her softly, sliding forward in her chair and putting her hand on Nicole's arm. Dammit. Now SHE was doing it. How the hell did she think Nicole was doing? She felt like crap. All of them did.

Nicole gave Gail a half-shrug. "Not too good," she admitted. "I just keep thinking about how unfair life is, sometimes. But then, I think he'd probably be mad at me if I go around being bitter all the time. I loved him, Gail, but I'm going to have to let him go. Unless he comes back as, you know, one of you guys. Cas had a talk with me a little while ago, and he told me not to give up hope."

"It's always good to have hope," Gail said vaguely.

A few minutes later, Tommy carried a large boombox to a table on the side of the bier where the body would be placed. He pressed a button, and a Led Zeppelin song called "In My Time Of Dying" began to play.

Sam, Cas, Bobby and Frank carried the body down the aisle and over to the bier. They laid it down gently. Each man touched it before taking his seat, and in a heartbreakingly touching moment, Cas kissed his fingers and touched them to the body before he took his seat.

Gail had never heard the song before, but the lyrics were so like Dean that her throat closed up and she choked back a sob. They all sat quietly in their seats until the song finished, and then Bobby rose slowly and walked to the front, standing beside the bier.

"This is the saddest day I think I've ever had, in a lot of ways," he said soberly. "Dean Winchester died a hero, doing what he did best." They had agreed that that was the story they would present to the other Hunters, the ones outside of their inner circle. Many of these people attending were Hunters, but they weren't privy to the details of what had really been going on. But they understood the life, and none of them would question Dean's sudden death. They were all well aware of the dangers.

"I wanna open up the floor now. Anybody who's got a funny story about Dean, come up here and share it with us," Bobby continued. "We're setting up a bar over there." He pointed to another table beside the one with the boombox, where Chuck, Barry, Ethan, Kevin and Riley were setting up bottles and glasses. "Everybody, help yourselves. It's what Dean asked for, and it's the kind of sendoff he deserves."

One by one, the guests started to get up and tell their stories, and soon, many of them were laughing. Even Sam grinned from time to time. "That's right," he was saying, nodding his head. Or, "I forgot about that." Cas looked over at him sharply, frowning, but Gail put her hand gently on her husband's leg and gave it a brief squeeze, and Cas faced forward again. He hadn't smiled once, not even at the funniest stories. Cas knew that everyone grieved differently, and that this was what Dean had wanted. But it was very difficult for him to sit here stoically while he could feel his heart breaking in two. If Dean were here, he would be berating Cas, calling him "Major Buzzkill". Telling him to take the stick out of his butt. The tears started flowing down Cas's face. He made no effort to wipe them away.

Frank had mixed emotions at the moment. On the one hand, nobody knew more about the therapeutic value of a good laugh than Frank. But on the other hand, he was still angry as hell about this whole damn thing. As soon as the service was over, he was going to talk to Sam. Then, if Frank was confident that his friend was going to be all right, Frank was going to move Jody and Rob back into their little house, and then plan a family vacation for the three of them. But first, they were going to stop by Sioux Falls and have a chat with Jody's doctor.

Barry and Tommy were thinking the same thing. They were sitting on the other side of Rob, holding hands. Tommy was going to talk to Sam after the service, too, and tell him that he and Barry were going to move back to Vancouver and start planning the wedding. But only if Sam was going to be all right.

Eventually, the stories wound down, and then Sam stood up. "I want to thank everybody for coming," he said. His voice caught. Looking out at all of their old friends had made him feel even more emotional. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to speak, so I'd like to ask Gail to go up in my place."

She rose. They'd discussed this beforehand. She had a very short verse that she'd wanted to read, and a song of her own that she wanted to play. Just in case what she and Sam had planned didn't work, Gail needed to express her feelings for Dean in her own way.

She went to stand at the front and took the piece of paper out of her pants pocket, smoothing it out with her hands. After a moment, she cleared her throat and began to read:

"'And when he shall die,/Take him and cut him out into little stars/And he will make the face of Heaven so fine/That all the world will be in love with night,/And pay no worship to the garish sun'."

Gail's lips were trembling now, but she was determined to say what she wanted to say. "Dean Winchester was my brother, in every way that matters. We laughed together, we cried together, we got mad at each other. I got on his nerves, and he got on mine. And if I had a nickel for every time I told him to please, please swallow his food before he talked, I'd be a rich woman." A ripple of laughter went through the guests. Gail continued, "But, as my dear, sweet Dean would probably say, I'll shut my pie-hole and bottom line it. Dean Winchester was an imperfect human being, and he was a pain in my ass, and I loved him, and I miss him so much I can't stand it. I need to play a song for him. I hope he won't hate it too much."

Gail nodded to Tommy, who had stood from his seat beside Barry and moved back over to the table where the boombox was. He pressed the button again. The song Time by The Alan Parsons Project began to play, as Gail re-took her seat. She had chosen the song very carefully. It said goodbye to someone the singer loved, "maybe" for forever, questioning whether the singer would ever meet the loved one again. It was a bittersweet, lyrical song, and it expressed perfectly the way she was feeling right now.

Cas enfolded her in his arms when she got back to her seat, and they cried together. Gail's heart was breaking for Cas, too. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this deception up. Something was going to have to give, and soon.

But for now, after the song was finished, Bobby walked up to the front again. He wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve and said, "Most of you guys - and gals - know what happens next. If you don't wanna stay and watch, feel free to leave."

There was some murmuring in the seats, but nobody got up. The Hunters knew very well what was going to happen next. It was what had to happen in their world, when one of them fell. Frank, Cas and Sam rose from their seats again and went to join Bobby up at the front. They moved over to the bier. Tommy handed each man a torch. The torches had been pre-soaked in kerosene to make them more flammable. Then Tommy lit the torches, and the men moved over to the body, two at the shoulders and two at the legs. Once the men were in position, Tommy pushed the button for the music once more.

Bobby had gone with Bob Seger's "The Famous Final Scene", as Dean had suggested:

"Like a guest who stayed too long/Now it's finally time to leave."

Dean's pallbearers touched the torches to the body on the bier.

"It's been coming on so long/You were just the last to know."

The flames licked along the sides of the body. Soon, the entire torso was on fire. The fire spread quickly, and then the corpse was suffused. The men dipped their torches one by one in a bucket of sand that the Angels had placed behind the bier, but they all remained at their positions, like an honour guard escorting their fallen brother and son to the next realm. As the body turned to ash, the song concluded.

"It's been a long time since you've smiled/Seems like oh so long ago,/As the light fades from the screen/From the famous final scene."

The song faded away, and the only sounds that were heard now were the crackling of the flames, and the weeping of some of the observers. Then Frank cleared his throat and said, "OK, that really sucked. And it's exactly the opposite of what Dean wanted. So let's crank up the classic rock tunes, and drink our faces off."

Nicole and Jody sniffled back their tears, nodding. Frank was right. Dean would have been a little upset not to be mourned at all, but he also hadn't wanted the mood to be overly somber, either. So they all tied to smile through their tears, and as the body on the bier burned down, the party began.


	4. Breaking Bad

Chapter 4 - Breaking Bad

Most of the guests had dispersed, except for a few stragglers. Garth and Bess had gotten a sitter for the little ones and they were standing by the bar now, reminiscing with Bobby. Jody had led Frank by the hand over there and introduced the werewolves to her husband, and Frank was eyeing Garth warily. There was something familiar about the guy and his wife that Frank couldn't quite put his finger on. Jody didn't bother to enlighten him. There would be time for that later, when they weren't at a Hunter's funeral.

"Well, I guess I'll be going. Whenever you're ready, Cas," Nicole said quietly. She put her hand on Gail's arm. "I'd like it if you guys still came to the premiere. Sam too, if he's up to it. Maybe God will be good, and we can even have an extra Angel there."

Gail's lips pursed. Poor Nicole. She had no idea. Then again, neither did Gail, really. But they'd better get on it, so they could find out, one way or the other. She took Cas's hand. "Excuse us for a minute," she said to Nicole.

She pulled Cas aside. "Do me a favour. When you take Nicole home, spend a bit of time with her. I think she could use the comfort."

Cas was surprised. "She seems all right to me," he remarked.

"People frequently cover up their grief," Gail insisted. "She's clearly heartbroken, but she's trying to be brave about it. At least have a cup of coffee with her, or something. Talk about the movie. Think about it; she's going back to an empty apartment, and the movie is wrapped. I just want to make sure she's OK."

Cas hugged his wife. She was so sweet, always thinking of others. "What about you?" he asked her softly.

"Me? I'm fine. I've got all these people around me. I'll be just fine. Now, go," she said, making shooing motions. Cas looked at her for another moment, and then he kissed her on the forehead and led her back to where Nicole was standing.

Gail hugged Dean's girlfriend. "If you need anything, just call us," the Angel told her.

"Give Sam a hug for me," Nicole said. "I'd do it myself, but I can understand why he had to go inside. It was a lot for him to take, today."

Then Cas took Nicole's hand and popped them out. The only people that were left now to see that were Angels, or humans who knew about the Angels, so there was no stealth necessary.

Gail popped into the bunker. "OK, Cas has taken Nicole home, but I'm not sure how much time we have," she said to Sam. "So, like we talked about, I'm pretty sure we can get all of the ingredients but the one from the storeroom, or at your buddy's occult shop."

"Yeah, but it's the one we're missing that worries me," Sam said. "How the hell are we supposed to get that?"

"I don't know," Gail replied, making a face. "I'm still working on that. If I have to get help, which I probably will, I'll go see Crowley, and find out how high the price is. Then, I'll pay it."

"Crowley?" Sam exclaimed. "Are you sure there isn't another way?"

Gail looked at him impatiently. "Do you know of another guy besides my husband who has the ability to go back to Creation?"

"I don't like it, Gail," Sam said, frowning. "It's bad enough that we're doing all of this behind Cas's back. Now you want to involve the King of Hell?"

"No, I don't WANT to, Sam, but I'll probably HAVE to," she said tartly. "Unless you can look in all those books over there and conjure up another person who was there at the start, I'll just have to bite the bullet, won't I? He thinks I owe him a favour already, and maybe I do, since he did end up helping us out with Lucifer. He wants Rowena dead. If I offer to do that for him, maybe he'll help me with this."

"Rowena?" Sam echoed, puzzled. "If he wants her dead so badly, why doesn't he just kill her himself?"

"Funny, I asked him the same thing, and he got all prickly on me. If you can imagine that," Gail said wryly. "Who the hell knows? And, who cares? The bottom line is, if that's what it takes to get him to help us, I'll do it."

Sam was uneasy, but he nodded. "OK, Gail. But please, promise me you won't get in too deep with Crowley. He is who he is. Just don't forget that, OK?"

She nodded absently. "Yeah, yeah. I know, Sam. OK, I'm going to go back outside and start helping to clean up. You get in that library and see if you can find anything, anything at all, that'll get us that bone on our own. Okay?" She kissed him on the forehead. "Look, I know this has been a horrible few days for you, but let's keep our eyes on the prize, Sam."

Sam nodded. She was right. It was time to marshal all the brain power he had, and focus it on getting Dean back. Gail popped out again and Sam rose from his chair, moving over to the library shelves.

Chuck stood in the hallway, stunned by what he had just overheard. Ingredients? Crowley? Rowena? What the hell were Sam and Gail cooking up? Whatever it was, they were doing it behind Cas's back, obviously. Oh, this was not good. Why on earth would Gail ever let herself get mixed up with something like this? There was only one answer he could think of: it had something to do with Dean. His mouth fell open. That had to be it. Some kind of a revival spell, maybe? What a wonderful notion, if it would work. But, Crowley? Rowena? Sneaking around behind Cas's back? If they were doing this without Cas's knowledge, it must be because what they were thinking of doing was wrong, somehow. Chuck thought about what he should do next. Should he tell Cas? But, Gail was Chuck's friend, too. She had stuck up for him when many others wouldn't give him the time of day. Didn't he at least owe her the opportunity to provide some kind of an explanation?

That decided him. Chuck would talk to Gail, the first chance he got.

An hour or so later, when everyone had left and all the cleaning up had been done, Gail couldn't wait any longer. She passed by Sam and gave him a gentle nudge from behind.

"I need to get some groceries," Sam said aloud, sitting up straighter in his chair.

Cas looked at him, puzzled. "Groceries?" he repeated.

"Yeah, Cas. Food," Sam said. "I need some healthy foods. Salad. Maybe some fruit. Dean and I only really ever ate junk."

Cas couldn't believe it. They'd just held Sam's brother's funeral, and now he was talking about shopping for food?

"That's my fault, I guess," Gail said casually. "I was nagging Sam to eat something, and he told me there was nothing in the house but booze." She paused. "I'll go with you, Sam. I need something to do."

"All right, we'll both go with you, Sam," Cas said. "I need something to do, too."

Gail shook her head. "No, I need you to do some other things. Can you see if Frank or the guys need any help packing? Then you'll have to take Barry and Tommy over to get their rental car, and then go to Frank's house. And then, you're going to go up to Heaven and file the official paperwork for the election, right? Remember, we talked about that? So you see, you've got lots to do. I'll pop Sam over to Frank's place as soon as we get the groceries put away."

"All right, my love," Cas said, nodding.

Gail kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you, sweetie. Tell those guys we'll see them in a little bit. Come on, Sam." She grabbed Sam's hand and winked the both of them out of the bunker before Cas had a chance to say anything more.

Sam and Gail walked into Huddleston's shop. Gail hadn't been sure what to expect, but to her, it looked pretty much like a natural foods store, maybe a place where you could get some holistic medicine. In short, it looked like a place where Sam might actually shop for food.

Huddleston came out from the back. "Hey, Sam," he said affably. "Long time, no see."

"Yeah," Sam said shortly. He took the list out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. "Here's the stuff we need. Can you handle the order?"

Huddleston scanned the list. "Should be no problem," he said matter-of-factly. "A couple of these things don't come cheap, though."

"Doesn't matter. Bag 'em up," Sam said.

Huddleston looked at Sam curiously, and then he looked at Gail. "Who's this? Your girlfriend?"

"Fill the order," Sam said, frowning. "I'm in a hurry. I'm not here to socialize."

The proprietor's eyebrows raised, but he made no retort. "Wait here," he said tersely, going to the back of the store.

"Not exactly best buddies, are you?" Gail said to Sam.

Sam shrugged. "Not exactly. But he knows what he's doing, and he's got the stuff in stock. That was the most important thing."

Gail nodded. He was right about that. With any luck, they'd have everything they needed, except for that one thing, by the end of the day. She walked through the store idly, wondering how Cas was doing with his assignments.

Nobody had needed any assistance packing, but Cas had helped to transport Barry and Tommy to the rental car place, and then the three of them had driven back to Frank and Jody's house.

"When Gail and Sam get here, I'll put out a few snacks, and we'll have a couple of drinks together," Jody told Cas. "I agree with Gail on that score; we've got to make sure Sam eats, and gets some sleep. She said you guys will look after him."

"Of course we will," Cas said, puzzled. "But what about you and Frank? Won't you be looking after Sam, too?"

"We'll talk about that when Sam and Gail get here," Jody said. "Now, weren't you going to Heaven? Go do your thing, and when you get back, we'll all talk."

So Cas had ascended, and he went straight to Laurel.

"Cas! It's so great to see you!" Laurel exclaimed. Then her smile faded. "I'm so sorry about your friend, though. Chuck told us all about it. But, quite frankly, Metatron won't be missed. In fact, I know of a few people who were pretty happy about his passing. But the main thing is, Lucifer's finally gone. You're a hero, Cas. You all are. Where's Gail?"

Cas briefly explained the situations they were dealing with on Earth. "Anyway, I'm here to request the paperwork pertaining to the election," Cas informed her.

Laurel's face lit up. "You're going to run in the election? Why, that's wonderful, Cas! As far as I'm concerned, it'll be just a formality. I can't imagine that anyone could oppose you."

"You can't?" Patricia said from behind Cas. She approached the two of them at the desk, regarding Castiel coolly. "I suppose thanks are in order," she said to him, without any inflection in her voice. It was funny, really. Spontaneous parties had been breaking out in Heaven ever since they'd gotten the news that Lucifer was no more. Even Patricia's heart had leaped, and her face had broken out into a rare smile. But an instant later, she realized that it really didn't matter. What had happened to her, what Lucifer had done? Well, it wasn't going to be un-done now, was it? She was still ruined. And now, the scenario she had feared was coming to pass. The instant that Castiel had vanquished Lucifer, he was here, seeking to be God.

"Well, it just so happens that I'm here for the very same purpose," Patricia told Laurel and Castiel.

Cas's eyebrows shot up. "You're running, too?"

"Yes, Castiel," Patricia said calmly. "Surely you don't have a problem with a woman seeking the High Office? If you do, I imagine your wife might have some things to say about that."

"No, it's just...I was surprised, that's all," Cas said weakly. But now, he was starting to panic. This had been unexpected. Quite frankly, they had anticipated that this would be a formality, only. Cas didn't really aspire to be God, but now that Dean was dead, Cas had to become God, in order to free Dean from the Garden, if he was there, and then assign their friend to Earth. Only God had the power to do those things, and Cas had to do that for his friend.

"May the best man - or woman - win, then," Patricia said now. "I have a vision for Heaven, Castiel. It's my personal opinion that some of the laws need to be changed, or tightened up, at least. We've been a rudderless ship for far too long. I'm running on a 'Heaven First' platform. That'll be my slogan, and our Mission Statement, going forward. Now that Lucifer is gone, we have to get our own house back in order. Therefore, my first order of business, should I be elected, will be to cancel all of the assignments to Earth."

Cas's heart stopped. She couldn't be serious. It was as if she had read his mind. He stared at her speculatively. For a while now, Castiel had felt that there was something wrong with Patricia, something off. And now, she was saying that if she became God, no Angel would be allowed to go to Earth in the future? That would be unacceptable, of course.

"What's the matter, Castiel?" Patricia asked him. "If you're running for the High Office, surely you must agree that Heaven should be our priority. We're Angels, not humans, insomuch as our behaviour should reflect. I'm sure you'll get a lot of votes, Castiel, but I also know that a lot of Angels are concerned about your continued absence from Heaven. It may very well be that we're ready for a change. It may very well be that Heaven is ready for a female God."

She was looking at him with the tightest of smiles now, and Cas got the message. But if she thought he was going to back down, she was very much mistaken. In fact...

"You may very well be right," he said to Patricia in a thoughtful voice. Then he looked at Laurel. "So, I will take two sets of papers, then."

"Two?" Laurel asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"Yes, two," Cas confirmed. "One set for myself, and one for Gail. Heaven may very well BE ready for a female God."

Patricia looked as if Cas had slapped her right in the face. So it was going to be like that, was it? Well, they were asking for it. There was no way Patricia would ever allow that little slut to take the High Office. The thought of Castiel being God was bad enough. If either one of them were to win the election, Heaven would descend into the Pit.

Laurel was uncomfortable now. She had long considered Patricia a friend of hers, but Laurel also liked Castiel and Gail very much. She was becoming afraid that this was going to turn into a divisive issue for Heaven. For the umpteenth time, Laurel wished that Bobby was still here. But she dutifully got the paperwork out. Patricia took hers, gave Castiel one more look that he couldn't quite interpret, and then she left without another word.

Cas stood there for another moment with the two sets of papers in his hand. How was Gail going to feel about this? He'd thrown her hat in the ring without discussing it with her, first. But he was fairly sure she would be OK with it, once he reminded her that it was for Dean. Besides, Cas didn't view Patricia as that much of a threat. He was simply looking to put Gail's name on the ballot as a backup. Sort of like splitting Aces, in Blackjack. If there were any Angels that specifically wanted to vote for a woman, they could vote for Gail, then, thereby taking those votes away from Patricia. Gail was a heroine, just as Cas was a hero. She had been a brave and equal partner in Lucifer's demise, and Cas would be happy to remind everyone of that fact. But frankly, Castiel didn't think it would come to that. He was Heaven's longest-serving Angel, the one that God had offered the job to in the first place, and he had led the team that had eradicated Lucifer. He was more than qualified for the High Office. That wasn't Pride; it was simply the truth.

Cas said goodbye to Laurel, and he winked back to Earth.

"OK, is it just me, or does some of this stuff look like it belongs in Knockturn Alley?" Gail quipped. She had picked up a bag of what looked like scorpion tails, and she was looking at it with distaste.

Sam burst out laughing, but the sound felt so inappropriate to him that he stopped immediately. Until he had Dean back, he shouldn't be laughing. He couldn't be laughing. Still, he blessed Gail for making him do it, even for a second.

Huddleston came out with their order in a box. "Do you want those scorpion tails, too? I can give them to you for half off."

Gail looked at him. "Just out of curiosity, what are they used for?" she asked him.

"Aphrodisiacs, mainly," he said matter-of-factly.

She was bemused. Yuk. If it came down to that, she would rather just cuddle. So many jokes were trying to escape from her mouth. How she wished that Frank and Dean were here. They could make risque jokes about occult sex shops, and the guys would tease her that she'd better stay away from those scorpion tails, because the last thing she and Cas needed was an aphrodisiac. Her eyes prickled with tears, but she blinked them away. This had to work. It just had to.

She and Sam double-checked the items on the list. Huddleston packed them up, Sam paid him, and then they left the store.

They dropped the ingredients off at the bunker, hiding them in Sam's closet. Then Gail quickly winked them over to Frank and Jody's house. Fortunately, Cas had just gotten there himself.

"I want to propose a toast. To our wonderful friends, Barry and Tommy," Cas announced. He looked at the men. "We want to thank you both for all the help you gave us. We all love you very much."

"You're welcome at the bunker any time," Sam told them. "Please, keep in touch."

"We'll be seeing you both at your wedding," Gail said, putting her arm around Barry's waist. "And if you need me or Cas to help you, just give us a call."

"How are you holding up, Sam?" Tommy asked Dean's brother quietly.

Sam shrugged uncomfortably. He was starting to feel the weight of the guilt of deceiving their friends, too. "As well as can be expected, Tommy," he said.

Tommy pulled Sam in for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Sam," he said in a choked voice. "We all loved Dean."

"I know," Sam said, patting Tommy on the back. "I know." Then Barry came forward to hug Sam, and the process was repeated.

Then there were hugs all around, and a few tears were shed, but the mood was much more somber than it normally would have been. Dean should have been here, teasing them about going back to Canada, the land of weirdly polite people, and suspicious-looking money.

Rob came down the stairs, carrying a suitcase in one hand and his laptop in the other. "Ready," he said.

Cas, Gail and Sam looked at Rob quizzically, and then at Frank and Jody. "That was one of the things we were going to tell you," Jody said. "Rob's going to stay with Barry and Tommy in Vancouver for a while. He's going to get a part-time job until the fall, and then he's going to enroll in high school there."

Gail was astonished. She looked at Frank, but he was expressionless. What the hell?

Rob put his bags down in the hall by the front door, and then he walked up to Sam. "I'm really sorry," he said to Sam in a low voice. "I liked Dean a lot." Rob was looking down at his feet, shuffling them uncomfortably.

A lump started to form in Sam's throat. Rob had grown quite a bit by now, but he was still a boy, and he had been through so much. Sam knew that Rob had been acting out from time to time, but so had Dean, when he and Sam had been growing up, and Sam and Dean had been through less heartbreak than Rob at his young age. Everywhere Sam turned, Dean's absence was being felt. If his brother was here right now, he could sit down with Rob and have a chat with him, possibly giving the boy advice on how to deal.

Suddenly, Rob put his arms around Sam's waist and hugged him tightly, and then, Sam lost it. All of the grief he'd been suppressing came out as he hugged Rob back, and he started to sob, his hair hanging in his face.

Gail's heart hurt for Sam. She moved forward and put her hand on Sam's arm. "Let me take you back to the bunker, Sam," she said softly.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Gail," Rob said immediately, backing away from Sam.

"No, it's not your fault, Rob," she said quickly. "Everybody grieves differently. This sucks for everyone, but it's not your fault. No one is blaming you."

"Before you take him away, we need to say goodbye, too," Frank told his sister.

"What? Why?" Sam said, wiping his tears away with his shirt sleeve.

"Frank and I are going to take a bit of a vacation," Jody told him. "We're going to take the car and just drive around for a bit." She put her hand on Sam's other arm. "But if you need us, you just call. OK, Sam?"

"OK, Jodes," he said. Jody hugged him, and then so did Frank. Frank held on for an extra minute. "We mean it," Gail's brother said sternly. "If you need anything, anything at all, you call us. Day or night. I'm gonna miss you, man. My other brother from another mother." He kissed Sam on the cheek, and Sam was so surprised and so touched by the gesture that he started to cry again.

"OK, that's it. Let's go," Gail said to Sam, separating the men. "Barry, Tommy, don't leave just yet. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She looked at Cas. "Please stay here. Get Frank a drink, or something. I'll be right back."

Then she popped Sam over to the bunker. "I'll keep Cas busy for a while," she told him. "I'm going to get the spell book from where I hid it. Then, you can check off the ingredients we bought, and then get the others from the storeroom. Make sure we've got everything else, and then hide the book here, somewhere. I think we're OK now. Cas doesn't suspect anything." She grabbed his face with her hands. "Please, Sam. I know it's hard, but we have to focus. Please."

"How do you do it, Gail?" he asked her.

"Do what?" she asked. Although she was pretty sure she knew.

"Keep from losing it?" he replied.

"Sam, if I lose it now, I'll never, ever be normal again," she told him. "If I start crying now, I'll never be able to stop. I'd better get back." Then she popped out, and a moment later, Sam walked down the hall to his room.

Gail winked into Heaven's library. "Chuck?" she called out.

Chuck stuck his head out from underneath the front desk. "Oh, hi, Gail. What do you need?"

"Have you got an empty journal book I could have?" she asked him.

"Sure, Gail. I'll be right back." He left the front desk and went to his office in the back.

She moved immediately to the shelf where she had left the spell book. She had pulled out one of the oldest, mustiest books and shoved the spell book behind it, then left the old book sticking out a bit. She'd thought it was a pretty safe gamble. The last person to check that ancient textbook out of the library had probably been Noah, or somebody from his time. And, sure enough, the spell book was right there, where she'd left it.

Chuck came out holding the journal, and he eyed the book in her hand, eyebrow raised. "You want me to check that out for you?" he said evenly. "Or, should we just have Cas sign it out?"

Gail made a face. "OK, so you know. You're not seriously going to tell him, are you?"

"Give me a good reason not to," Chuck said calmly.

"Because he doesn't approve," she replied.

"Well then, shouldn't that tell you something?" Chuck said, his voice rising. "Consider the source of that book, Gail. That's the same woman who gave me that stupid Eiffel Tower sculpture, in Paris. The same one that sat right here on this desk, poisoning me systematically, making me want to kill Cas, and...well, you know."

"I know that, Chuck. But the spell in here works, and we're doing it." She moved over to the photocopier and lifted its lid, plunking the book face down. She copied the last two pages, several times.

"What are you doing?" Chuck asked her, coming around from behind the desk.

"I'm taking a few copies, just in case," she retorted. "If you rat me out, and Cas gets his hands on this book, I'll still have copies of the spell."

"She's an evil witch," Chuck persisted. "She's Crowley's mother."

Gail grabbed the copies she'd made and started to fold them. "I know all that, Chuck. And I don't care. We're getting Dean back. We can't do without him. I can't do without him, Chuck. Neither can Sam, and neither can Cas. What happened to Dean wasn't fair. He needs a do-over, and Sam and I are going to see to it that he gets it."

"What about Cas?" Chuck asked her.

"Why does everybody keep asking me that?" she exclaimed, exasperated. "If it works, he'll be overjoyed."

"What if it doesn't?" Chuck said.

"I don't have time to argue with you," she said tartly. "Please give me the journal. And, do me a favour? Give me a heads-up if you're going to tell Cas, so I can hide these." She stashed the pages in her pants pocket and held her hand out for the journal.

Chuck gave it to her. "I sure hope you know what you're doing," he said to her, shaking his head.

She laughed shortly. "So do I."

Then Gail popped out of the library and back to the bunker. Sam was sitting in the library area there, assembling the ingredients they'd bought on the table.

"Here's the book, and here are some photocopies I made. Hide them all, in different places," Gail instructed him. "Photocopies? What for?" Sam asked, puzzled.

"Chuck knows," she said bluntly. "I don't think he will, but just in case he tells Cas, I wanted to have some backup. I'd better go. I'll see you soon." She left the copies and the book on the table, then winked out again.

Sam frowned. This was starting to feel really underhanded. But they had to bring Dean back, or at least, they had to try. Sam couldn't stand to be without his brother much longer.

He hid the photocopies in various spots around the bunker. He even dug a hole out back and buried one in the ground in a metal coffee can, just in case. He'd seen it in a movie once.

Then he checked the ingredients and their quantities against the list in the spell book, and then he checked it again. They had everything now, except for the ancient item.

Sam went to the bookshelves, but instead of filing the spell book where he normally would have, he filed it under "P" on the shelf, facing the wall. If a person were to be looking casually at the bookshelves from the library area, the book would not be seen. But Sam had picked the letter "P" for a reason: he was thinking of the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, called The Purloined Letter. In that story, the letter the detectives were searching for wasn't found, because it was hiding in plain sight. He smiled grimly. Dean would have mocked him, calling him a nerd, or a bookworm. How he longed to be mocked again.

Sam picked up the ingredients and brought them back to his room. The bunker was eerily quiet. When was the last time Sam had been here all by himself? He couldn't remember. Under ordinary circumstances, he probably would have welcomed the peace and quiet. Ever since he could recall, there had been so many combinations and permutations of humans and Angels bustling in and out of here that he had taken the noise and activity for granted. But now, it was too quiet. Their family was breaking apart. Apparently, Dean had been the glue that had held everyone together. Or, maybe it had even been Lucifer.

Sam lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. After a minute or two, he began to cry silent tears again.

"Is Sam all right?" Cas asked Gail when she returned to Frank and Jody's house.

She gritted her teeth. If he asked her that one more time..."He's resting," she said tersely. She looked at Rob. "I brought this for you," she told the boy. "It's a journal. You can use it for whatever you like. Record your thoughts, or any story ideas you may have. You can even write down any premonitions you're having, if you want. The journal's one of Chuck's. That's what he does. Then, you can either share whatever you put in there, or burn it. Whatever you want. It doesn't have to be a curse, Rob. It was a double-edged sword for me too, sometimes." She put her hand on Rob's arm. He had grown so much in the past year that he was taller than she was now. "But, I'll tell you something. The sweetest memory I have of having my abilities was when I met your Uncle Cas for the first time. My psychic ability was what made me able to tell what was going on with him, and my healing ability enabled me to make him better." She smiled at her husband, and he smiled back. That was one of his sweetest memories, too. The first of many. "So you see, it's not all bad. There can be an upside to having special talents, too," Gail concluded.

Rob looked expressionlessly at Cas, and then back at her. He accepted the journal, murmuring his thanks, and then he left the living room to pack it in his bag.

Tommy put his coffee cup down. He'd had one beer with Frank, but then he had switched to coffee because he was going to be the one who was doing the driving. They were going to take their time. Tommy had talked to one of his reporter friends, who was heading overseas for a long-term assignment. He had a two-bedroom condo that he was going to lend to Barry and Tommy to live in while he was away. There was the second bedroom for Rob, and best of all, Tommy's friend wasn't going to charge them any rent, as long as they looked after the place. Frank had quipped that with Barry and his chore jar system, the place would probably look better than he'd left it, when Tommy's friend came back.

"We'd better get going," Tommy announced. I want to get in a few hours' driving before it gets dark."

They all looked at each other sadly. Their friends had to get on with their own lives, but it was going to be so strange not having them around. And now, Rob was going with them, while Frank and Jody took off by themselves.

The group drifted out onto the porch to see their friends off. The men took their bags to the car as Cas said, "I'd like to talk to Rob for a moment. I won't keep him long." He took the boy aside.

"I know you're very upset with me," Cas said to Rob softly. "I know that you blame me for many of the ills that have befallen you and your family."

Rob was uncomfortable. Was Cas psychic, too? "It's complicated," he mumbled.

"Yes, it is," Cas said briefly. He continued to look at the boy.

Rob heaved a sigh. "I don't blame you, Cas, it's just...I just wish..." He stopped talking. Geez, for a guy who thought he was a pretty good writer, he was sure blowing this.

But Cas was nodding. "Believe it or not, I understand what you mean," he said in a thoughtful tone. "There are many things that I would change if I had the power to do so."

"OK, well, I'd better go," Rob said to Cas. He stepped off the porch and walked down to where the car was parked at the curb. Jody was there, helping the men load their bags. Then she hugged them again and gave Rob a kiss. Then Tommy drove off.

Gail was standing beside Frank and Bobby on the porch. Frank stood stoically, watching the car drive down to the end of the street. Then it turned around the corner, and then, it was out of sight. Only then did Gail see a tear squeeze out of the corner of Frank's eye and dribble down his cheek.

Gail didn't understand any of this. Lucifer was gone now. Wasn't that what they had worked so hard and sacrificed so much for? It was safe for Rob to go out now. He could get a job here, and go to school here. So what the hell was he doing getting in a car and going to Canada? Leaving her brother? Were things really that bad?

"I want to talk to you for a minute," Gail said to her brother as Jody walked back up to the porch.

"Let's go inside," Jody said to Cas and Bobby. "Give them a couple of minutes."

Cas threw Gail a concerned look, but Jody grabbed the Angel by the arm and took him inside the house, Bobby trailing behind.

"Explain to me what's going on here," Gail said angrily.

Frank turned to look at her. "You're a smart cookie. I thought you would have figured that out."

"Well, let's just pretend I'm stupid," she snapped.

"You're not too old for me to pop you one," Frank said warningly. "And the mood I'm in right now, it wouldn't take much."

"I'm sorry," she said contritely. "I don't want to fight with you, Frank. But, I'm confused."

Frank sighed. "I had to let him go, Gail. It's for his own good. He needs to be exposed to a different world, one without murder, and blood, and tears. So I asked Barry and Tommy if they would take him, and I encouraged him to go. He's gonna get a summer job, 'cause we told him he's not a child anymore and he's got to contribute. Tommy said he might be able to get Rob an internship with the paper. Then, he'll go to high school in the fall. He's gonna have a normal life, Gail. I'm seeing to that. He can go to the mall, and meet other kids his age. Maybe meet a girl. A nice, normal life. He's going to have the kind of life that none of us got to have. But it's ripping my heart right out of my chest, especially after we just lost Dean, so for once, just shut your yap. OK?"

Gail gave him a tearful smile. "OK, Frank. OK. I'll shut my big yap." She put her arms around his waist and hugged him, and he hugged her back.

After a minute, she pulled out of the embrace. "So, you and Jody are going on a vacation?" Gail asked her brother, trying to lighten the mood. "Where?"

Frank glanced furtively towards the house. "Actually, don't freak out, but that'll depend on what Jody's doctor has to say." He explained to his sister how Jody had been feeling. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing, but I just want to make her take care of herself a bit more. She's the most important person in my life. You know what that's like, don't you, kiddo?"

That stab of guilt again. Yes. Yes, she did.

"If the doctor says it's stress-related, which I have no doubt that it is, I'll send you postcards from wherever we end up," Frank told her. Then he tried on a smile. "But if you think I'm praying to you guys, you're dreaming."

"Just wait till Cas is God," Gail teased her brother. "I'm going to give him a list of my childhood grievances, then sit back and let the smiting begin."

Frank laughed softly. "Thanks for the laugh, kiddo. I needed that."

"Things will get better, Frank," she said quietly. "They have to."

"Well, they sure as hell couldn't get much worse," he remarked. Then he gave her another hug, and then they went inside the house.

So now, Gail had something else to worry about. Jody had to be all right. She just had to be. There was no way any of them could take any more heartbreak. No way.

She, Cas and Bobby had said their goodbyes to Frank and Jody, who had driven off into the sunset. Then the Angels turned to Bobby. "Are you going back to the bunker?" Cas asked him.

Damn, Gail thought. She had forgotten about Bobby. She and Sam needed to be alone at the bunker, to talk about the spell. Once she had verified that they had all the necessary ingredients except for the one, they were going to have to decide on a plan to get it.

But Bobby bailed her out. "No, I'm gonna take a walk for a while. You said Sam was resting, so I'm going to let him rest."

"Where are you going to go?" she persisted.

Bobby regarded her coolly. "You're a little too young to be my mother, aren't you?"

"I just meant..." Gail started to say, but she couldn't think of a way to finish her sentence.

Bobby took her hand. "I appreciate your concern, dear, but I'm a grown man. Don't make me say it's none of your damn business."

Cas opened his mouth to speak, but Bobby held up his hand. "Leave it, Cas. Just...leave it." Then he turned around and walked away.

Cas and Gail popped over to their house. It was full night now, so they undressed quietly and got into bed. Cas was in his shorts and Gail was in one of her nightshirts. Cas put his arms around her automatically, and the Angels lay silently together. Normally, they would be making love, but neither of them felt particularly amorous right now.

After a few minutes, the silence was starting to get to Gail. "Do you want to watch some TV?" she asked her husband.

Cas thought about that. He supposed so. He had been acutely aware of the silence also. But what could they possibly talk about? There was only one subject that was preoccupying them both, but he didn't have the heart to talk about Dean right now. He sighed and reached for the remote.

But everything that was on TV reminded Cas of Dean, in one way or another. Every actor on every show was good-looking, with nice eyes and an easy smile. There was a show about classic cars the reminded Cas of how Dean was always teasing him about his lack of knowledge about "cool" cars. There was a commercial that featured a character named Captain Obvious. That must be where Dean had gotten that from.

"I miss him so much, Gail," Cas said in a shaky voice. The tears were falling from his eyes now, and his arms tightened around her.

Somebody had punched a hole in her chest and reached in there, grabbing her heart and strangling it with all their might. How could she possibly be expected to go on, enduring this kind of pain? How could Cas? Or Sam? Or any of them?

She kissed the tears away from his face, took a deep breath, and said, "What happened in Heaven? Did you get the paperwork?"

Cas sniffled back his tears, collecting himself. That had been exactly the right thing to say to him at this point. Cas had to let her know what had transpired, and what he had done.

So he sat up straighter and told her about his conversation with Patricia, and the fact that he had taken a second set of papers for Gail. Then he waited for her reaction.

But she didn't really have one. Gail was obsessed with the spell right now, and how they were going to get that last ingredient. Besides, she thought it was a done deal: Cas was going to be the next God. Patricia was dreaming.

"OK, I'll fill out the papers tomorrow," Gail told her husband. "But right now, I want to go and check on Sam again. He's there at the bunker all alone now."

"I thought you said he was resting," Cas said.

"Yeah, but he's probably not going to be able to sleep, Cas," she said. She kissed her husband on the cheek and scrambled out of the bed. "I just need to check on him," she repeated. She opened the bureau drawer and took out some underclothes. "If he's sleeping, I'll come right back."

Cas was astonished. What was she doing? Didn't she realize that he needed her, too? But then he felt ashamed of himself for that thought. That was selfish. He and Gail had each other. Sam was all alone now. "All right, I'll get dressed and go with you, then," he offered.

"No, you stay here," Gail said to Cas, pulling on her clothes hastily. "I'll be back really soon." She strode over to the bed and kissed him on the forehead, and then she winked out.

Cas sat there, open-mouthed. What had that been all about? Had he said something to make her angry? But she hadn't been angry, she had just been...what, exactly? She had told him to stay here. That wasn't the first time she had ordered him to stay away from the bunker recently. In fact, it seemed as if she had been trying to get rid of him, ever since...No. It couldn't be.

Cas got out of bed and began to dress.

"It's not a bone," Sam said to Gail.

He had been sitting at the library table, studying the spell book again. They had both looked at the ingredients numerous times, but apparently, they had both read the most difficult one incorrectly.

"What do you mean?" she said sharply, hurrying over to where he sat to take a look.

"We read it wrong," he told her.

Gail looked eagerly over his shoulder. "Really? Well, that's great!"

"Not so great," he said dryly. His finger pointed to the ingredient in question, and Gail's face fell.

"Not a bone; blood," Sam said glumly. "And not just one sample, but two. One from Cain, and one from Abel."

Gail swore viciously. Great. How in the hell were they supposed to do that? She asked Sam this now.

"You're asking the wrong person," Cas said.

Jody couldn't stand it anymore. She and Frank had barely spoken since they'd gotten on the road. They were both heartbroken, of course, but this was ridiculous. There was no way she was driving all the way to Sioux Falls with a big fat elephant sitting in the front seat between them.

"Pull over at the next exit," she told him. "I need to find a drugstore. I have a splitting headache."

It was the worst argument that Cas and Gail had ever had, and neither of them even really knew why they were having it, because the subject of the argument was something that they both wanted more than life itself.

"You lied to me, and went behind my back," he said, tight-lipped.

"I had to," she insisted.

"How could you do this, Gail?!" he exclaimed angrily.

"How could I not?" she countered. "We need Dean back, Cas! Look at how messed up things are without him! We're all miserable, and our family is broken apart. We're getting him back, Cas."

"By using black magic?!" he roared. "I forbid it!"

She laughed harshly. "Yeah? Well, let me know how that works out for you! Just how do you propose to stop me?"

"I'm going to take that book and destroy it, as I should have done in the first place," Cas shot back.

"Fine. And while you're doing that, I'll be at the house, packing my things," she said.

Sam gasped, and the two Angels fell silent, staring at each other.

"You don't mean that," Cas said quietly. "You can't mean that."

Gail had actually shocked herself speechless. She didn't, did she? She approached him, trying to find the right words to tell him how she felt. "I miss him so much I can't stand it," she told him softly. "Every second of every minute of every day. Don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do," Cas answered quickly. "That's not the issue."

"Yes, it IS the issue! It's the only issue that matters!" she exclaimed. "He didn't deserve to die, Cas!"

"I agree, but it was God's edict," Cas replied. "His Will."

"Was it?" she retorted. "Are we absolutely sure about that? Lucifer wrote those Tablets, Cas! He said so himself! How do we know that he didn't put that part in there just to stick it to us?"

Both Sam and Cas gaped at her. That thought hadn't occurred to either of them. It actually hadn't occurred to Gail either, not until she began her rant. But now that she had Cas's attention, she went on: "Maybe God is trying to give us the loophole, here! Think about it. Why would Rowena have given Bobby that spell book in the first place? And then it ends up here in the bunker after we get it back from Aurielle in the cabin, and then, Crowley tells me that my blade says I have the ability to perform magic spells! Why would God give me a supposedly evil skill like that if He didn't intend for me to use it to revive Dean? That's the only explanation that makes any sense! A spell is only evil if it's done with evil intent. This one will be done for love."

Cas thought about what she was saying. He was extremely conflicted now.

"None of us will ever be happy again until we bring Dean back," Gail said softly. "We need him. Please, Cas. Please."

Cas looked at his wife, then at Sam, then at the book on the table. "I need a minute," he said, winking out of the library.

Jody came out of the drugstore. She went around to the driver's side of the car. Frank rolled the window down.

"I'm hungry," she told him. She pointed. "See that restaurant over there? I'll meet you there in a minute."

Frank looked at her. "Ummmm...okay," he said, wrinkling his forehead. Why didn't she just get in the car? But she was already walking towards the place. He shook his head. Women. He put the car in Drive.

Cas was standing out in back of the bunker, looking at the spot where they had burned Dean's body. Or at least, what he'd thought was Dean's body. It was full dark out now, but the light that Sam had installed outside the door was programmed to switch itself on when it got dark, and it was shining now, affording illumination.

It hurt Cas that they had gone behind his back like that, but he was thinking now about what Gail had said. He had to admit that there was logic to her argument. He had been going on the premise that they were following God's wishes by following the instructions on the Tablets. But, what if Gail was right?

She'd also stated that a spell was only evil if it had evil intent. But was that just a rationalization? One could justify any number of things in the name of love. But Gail had also said that this spell would be motivated by love, and he knew that nothing was more honest and pure than their love for Dean.

The Rom fortune teller had told them that Gail's use of dark magic was going to split them apart. But they were in control of their relationship, weren't they? Was Cas prepared to lose everything he had, everything that had ever mattered to him, on a principle that might turn out to be a fallacy? If only their Father would send him some kind of a sign. Or had He already done so?

Cas called Gail on their frequency, asking her to come outside. When she appeared, he looked sadly at her.

"You and I have spent some of our best moments out here, and yet now, we have endured our worst," Cas said to her. He took a deep, shaky breath, then let it out. "Every time I close my eyes, you are the face I see. Each time I take a breath, it is for you, my darling, that I breathe. And every time I look around, my eyes search for you. You are my whole world, Gail. If you feel so strongly that this is the right thing to do, I will not oppose you. If the spell is to be done with love, let it be done with the love we have for each other. I will do anything that you and Sam need me to do to bring our brother back."

Gail ran to him and put her arms around him. "Thank you, sweetie. I love you so much," she said, clinging to him.

Cas held her tight for a moment, and then he said, "Let's go back inside and figure this out, together."

A couple of minutes later, Cas's cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the Call Display. "It's Frank," he told Sam and Gail. He answered the call, listening for a moment. Then he told Frank where he and Gail were, and who they were with. "Do you want me to put you on Speaker?" Cas offered. He pushed the button and put the phone down on the library table.

"Frank? What's going on?" Gail asked her brother.

"I have something - " Frank started to say. Then, silence.

"Frank? Are you still there? What's happening?" Sam asked, his forehead wrinkling.

"I have something - " Frank said again, and again, he stopped. Gail looked at Sam and then at Cas, wide-eyed. She realized her brother was crying. Oh, no. God, no. Please.

"Frank, for God's sake! Please tell us: what's the matter?" Gail exclaimed. Cas looked at her, alarmed.

"Jody's pregnant," Frank told them.


	5. Creation Dream

Chapter 5 - Creation Dream

There was silence for a moment. Then, Gail fumbled for the nearest chair and sat down heavily, putting her head in her hands. She felt lightheaded. She'd felt so scared, there.

"Ummmm...are you guys still there?" Frank asked hesitantly.

Cas was starting to smile. As soon as Gail had sat down like that, he had hurried forward to check on her. But when he'd put his hand on her, she had waved her own hand to signal that she was all right. But now, Frank's news was starting to sink in, and Cas was the first one to react.

"That's wonderful, Frank!" Cas enthused. "Is Jody there with you?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Cas," Jody's voice came over the phone. "Sorry, I just had my mouth full there, for a minute."

"Now we know why she's been eating like a lumberjack," Frank said, and they could hear the grin in his voice. Then: "Ow! She just hit me!"

Gail was starting to smile now too, and suddenly, she jumped to her feet. "I can't believe it," she said, stunned. "I can't believe it! I'm going to be an Aunt!"

"Yeah, cause, you know, it's all about you," Frank said dryly. "That's why we're having the baby, just so you can be an Aunt." He looked at Jody warmly. "We're having a baby. I still can't believe it, Jodes."

"Me neither," she replied, dazed. She just sat there for a moment. Then she shrugged and resumed eating.

"Congratulations, Jody, Frank," Sam said now. "Finally, some good news."

"Yeah," Frank agreed, and now they could hear the tone of conflict in his voice. "I'm still sad as hell about Dean, you guys, but I couldn't wait to tell you. Jody and I were thinking that you guys could use some good news right around now, too. But I don't want you to think we're minimizing your grief, or anything like that. It's kind of weird to be walking around happy and smiling, so soon after..."

"Don't you worry about that," Sam said quickly. "This is one of the best things that'll ever happen to the both of you. Enjoy it. Please."

"What are you going to do now?" Gail asked them. "Are you still going on vacation?"

"Nope," Frank replied cheerfully. "Change of plans. First, we're gonna call Rob and Barry and Tommy and let them know, while Jody finishes her seven-course meal - Ow!" His sister smirked. Jody must have smacked him again. Frank continued, "Then, we're still going on to Sioux Falls."

"I want to see my doctor anyway, just to make sure everything's OK," Jody chimed in. "I'll see if she can recommend a good obstetrician in Lebanon. Then we're just gonna come home, until I have the baby. In case you guys haven't noticed, I'm not in my twenties any more. I don't feel like traipsing all over the place right now."

Cas nodded. He didn't know all that much about the subject, but that made sense to him. The more the news sank in, the more jubilant he was starting to feel. "Well, if there's anything we can do to help you, please let us know," he said.

"Oh, you'll all be helping," Frank confirmed with a grin. "I'm not too proud to accept all the help I can get. So what do you say, kiddo? Ready to change some diapers?"

"You obviously don't know me very well," Gail replied, looking askance at the phone as if Frank could see her. "That's not going to be happening."

"I'll do it," Cas said, smiling gently. "I'll be happy to."

Gail smiled at her husband, shaking her head slowly. Only Cas could be happy at the prospect of changing diapers. He remembered what was in those, right?

"Well, we're gonna get going," Frank said. "We'll call you when we're back home."

The trio said goodbye to the happy couple, congratulating them once more, and then Frank hung up the phone.

"A brand new life," Cas said softly. "That's the sign."

"What are you talking about?" Gail asked him curiously.

"When I was outside praying to our Father for guidance, I asked him for a sign," Cas replied. "He almost never gives those. But I think in this instance, He did."

Now Gail was nodding. "I think you're right, sweetie. Lucifer is gone, and now we're going to have a little niece or nephew, who's never going to have to be scared to go outside, as a result. And one of the first people that kid is going to meet is their Uncle Dean. Right?" she added, looking at Cas.

He nodded. "Right."

Then Gail looked at Sam. "Right?"

Sam smiled grimly. "Right."

Gail clapped her hands briskly. "OK, then. Let's get brainstorming."

Jody sat back, rubbing her stomach. "Boy, am I full."

"Well, of course you are. You didn't just eat for two, you ate for twenty-two," Frank wisecracked.

Jody raised an eyebrow. "You want another smack? And there'll be the weight of a seven-course meal behind it, this time."

But Frank smiled, because he knew she was just being the way she normally was with him. Things were about to change radically for them, so it was comforting to see Jody behaving normally. It was funny, too. When they'd first gotten into town, they'd both been in the throes of their grief over Dean. Then Jody had gone into the drugstore and then she had come out, acting all weird.

Jody'd had the feeling she knew what was going on for a while, but she had been thinking she would wait for Dr. Vukovic to confirm her suspicions, once they got to Sioux Falls. At least, that had been the original plan. But she'd gotten so fed up with all of the sadness. Didn't they all deserve to have something to feel happy about, for a change? So she had asked Frank to pull off the highway, she had bought the pregnancy test at the drugstore, and then she had hurried over to the restaurant, so that she could go to the bathroom and use it.

Several minutes later, Jody's suspicions had been confirmed. She'd come out of the washroom and walked over to the table, stammering out the news. Frank had gaped at her, and then he had vaulted out of his chair and grabbed her, showering her with kisses. Jody had let him, for a minute or three, and then she had told him to quit mauling her and order her some food.

And now here they were, sitting and smiling at each other. "I'm kind of looking forward to sitting around doing nothing, for a while," Jody said to her husband. "The question is, what are YOU going to do?"

Frank looked thoughtful. "I have a couple of ideas about that," he said to her. "First off, I'm gonna baby-proof the house. And then, I'm thinking I should look for a respectable, honest job."

Jody looked at him skeptically. "As what?"

Frank shrugged. "I don't know, Jodes. There's got to be something a guy like me can do."

Jody smirked. In spite of her claims of being stuffed to the gills, she was perusing the dessert menu now. "I don't think Evening At The Improv pays people who try out for stand-up," she remarked.

Frank opened his mouth, then closed it again. He had to hand it to her. That had been pretty funny, actually.

"We talked about this before, remember?" Jody said to her husband. "When we talked about whether or not we wanted to have a baby, we talked about leaving the life. But I thought we'd reached the conclusion that a so-called normal life would make us miserable. The only reason I'll be staying home is because the very idea of me Hunting with a great big pregnant stomach is so laughable it's beyond comprehension. But there's no reason we both have to be miserable." She put her hand on her husband's arm. "I think you should hang around with Sam. Maybe, after he's had the chance to mourn a bit longer, the two of you can take on some cases." Frank opened his mouth to protest, but Jody held up her hand. "Just local ones, if you want," she continued. "If you like, I'll get you a pager. But, you do realize you've got a sister and a brother-in-law, not to mention a bunch of Angel friends, who could zap you back here at a moment's notice, right?"

Frank nodded. "Yeah, I do. And I see your point about Sam. But you're the most important person in the world to me, Jody. You, and that baby you're carrying. I just want to be sure that you're all right."

"I'll be fine. We won't dwell on the fact, but I have done it before, you know," she reminded him.

But she looked a little sad when she said it, so Frank smirked. "Yeah, but you weren't, like, a hundred years old then, as Rob would say," he wisecracked.

"I guess we'd better give him a call and let him know," Jody said soberly, ignoring Frank's attempt at humour. "But this changes nothing. As long as you're still OK with it, I still think he should spend some time away. If and when he decides to come back, I'd like it to be his decision, Frank. I don't want him to feel like we're blackmailing him into coming back to us, or anything. Pregnancy at my age is going to be enough of a challenge without having to deal with a surly adolescent. Well, with another one, I should say," she amended with a smile. "Bobby'll probably come around to babysit. And Cas and Gail will be the godparents, of course. Wow. Talk about typecasting."

Frank was grinning now. "You know, I think pregnancy is making you funnier," he said appreciatively.

"Just wait a couple of months, till the hormones are surging," she said with a raised eyebrow. "We'll see how much you're laughing then. You're going to be begging Sam to find cases all the way across the country from me." She rose from her chair. "Order me the double fudge sundae. I'll be back in a minute." She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, then hurried off to the bathroom.

Frank smiled. He loved his wife so much. And now, there was going to be a brand new little person to love, too. As Dean would have said: Good deal. But that thought hurt too much, so he made himself stop thinking about Dean. Frank pulled out his cell phone and called Tommy.

"I'm glad you called," Tommy said immediately. "We were going to call you."

Frank frowned. "Why? Is everything OK?"

"I don't know," Tommy replied. "We were all a little tired, so we checked into a hotel with adjoining rooms. Thought we'd give Rob a little thrill by letting him have his own room. We told him he could order a couple of things from room service and even order a movie for himself, as long as it wasn't, you know, one of THOSE kind. We told him we'd know if he did, and he joked: What, were we psychic, too? We told him no, it would be on the bill in the morning. Anyway, we all had a laugh about it, and it felt so great to laugh like that after how miserable we've all been."

"That's all great, Tommy, but could you get to the point?" Frank said, as Jody returned to the table. Frank put the phone on Speaker, but he left the volume low, so only he and Jody could hear. There wasn't anybody sitting around them, anyway.

"So, a little while later, Rob starts pounding on our door," Tommy continued. "We let him in, and he was shaking like a leaf. I guess he fell asleep after eating his dinner. He was watching some of those superhero movies, and we thought that had gotten into his head. But he said he'd been dreaming about a lady who called herself a white witch. People who were having trouble conceiving went to her, and she said she had spells to help them. But what she was really doing was selling them babies. And here's where it really gets interesting: all of those babies had special abilities, or powers, if you will. Psychic abilities and healing powers, among other things. Sound familiar?"

It did, but: "I thought you said it was all just a dream," Frank said.

"Yeah, but it was all very specific and very detailed, right down to the woman's name, and the location of her office. Her name was Cathy Scanlon, and her office was in Denver, Colorado."

Frank's jaw dropped open. He looked at Jody. "That's the name that was on the paper in that envelope Gail got from our old house," he said, dazed. "And the address was a Denver address."

"So much for it being a dream, then," Jody remarked.

"And there's one more thing, and this is the part that concerned us the most," Tommy continued. "Rob said there was a man that this Cathy got the babies from, some kind of behind-the-scenes guy that her customers never saw. Rob couldn't see the guy's face and he didn't know what his name was, but he said as soon as the man handed Cathy a baby in the dream, he looked up and said, 'Mind your own business, Rob, or you'll regret it.' Then Rob woke up, and he was so scared by even the idea of this guy that he was shaking from head to toe by the time he knocked on our door."

Frank and Jody frowned. What the hell was this, now? Should they be worried about it, and if so, how much?

Jody sighed. She didn't want to overreact about this. They were used to looking for danger around every corner, but Lucifer was gone now, and her police training told her that they would need a lot more than some woman's name, a dream, and some vague description of some random guy before sounding the alarm. Still, it sounded like they had just been presented with something to do, once they got back from Sioux Falls.

"Is Rob all right? Can we talk to him?" Jody asked, but Tommy advised that Barry had gone to Rob's room to keep him company for a while, and the boy had just gone back to sleep.

Frank looked at Jody, and she shrugged. Their news could wait. "Let him sleep," she told Tommy. "We'll talk to you in the morning." Then they hung up, and Jody ordered her dessert.

"I was sure that this said the bone of a person who was on the Earth at the time of Creation, when I first looked at it," Gail said, pointing to the ingredients list in the spell book. "Mind you, that was a while back, but, still..."

"Me too," Sam said, frowning. "But that's clearly not what it says at all."

Gail couldn't understand it. She was one hundred percent sure that's what it had said, originally. "Wow," she mused aloud. "This book's so magic it even changes its own ingredients according to who the spell is for," she quipped. But then she looked at the men. "Hey, wait a minute. That might not be as crazy as it sounds."

"What do you mean?" Cas asked her, puzzled.

"Rowena used this same spell to revive Crowley, right?" she said.

Cas was the one to frown now. "Please don't remind me about that. I'm uneasy enough about this whole thing as it is."

"My point was, that he was a person who was around at the time of Creation," Gail said slowly, reasoning aloud. "Therefore, that would have been a viable ingredient, in his case. But now, this is telling us that we need blood from both Cain and Abel to complete the spell. And for this particular situation, it makes sense. Rowena needed Crowley's own bone to make him whole again. In our case, we need the blood from the two brothers involved in the First Murder to counteract the effects of this one. Makes sense to me."

They all thought about that for a moment. In a strange way, it did make sense. But, a book that changed its spells' ingredients according to the needs of the person casting the spell? Then again, was that really so outrageous in their world? They were talking about bringing a dead man back to life, weren't they? It didn't get much more out there than that.

Cas started to roll up his sleeve. "Well, we can solve half of that equasion right now," he said. "And then, we'll go see Crowley, and get his." He smiled grimly. "One way or the other."

Gail put her hand on his arm, kissing him on the cheek. "Slow your roll, sweetie. I only wish it was that easy."

"Why? What do you mean?" Cas asked her.

Sam slid the book down the table, and Gail pointed to the ingredients in question. "The blood has to be obtained from the original Cain and Abel," she said, glancing at the page.

"Well, so what? That's who we really are," Castiel persisted.

Gail responded, "Yes, but it says here that the blood has to be collected at the time of Creation." She raised her eyes to look at him. "We have to figure out a way to go back to the beginning of everything." She looked at Sam. "Any of those books in there have any bright ideas on how to do that?"

But Sam surprised her by saying, "You've already done it." She looked at him, startled. "That's how you first found out who Cas and Crowley were back then, remember?" Sam said to her. "Cas brought you back to Creation, and you saw Crowley murder him, when he was Cain and Cas was Abel."

Gail started to smile. "That's right!" She turned to Cas eagerly. "We'll just do that, then."

But Cas was shaking his head ruefully. "I don't have that kind of power. Our Father helped me with that little endeavour. And this time we wouldn't just be observers; we would have to be fully, physically present, to collect the blood samples. This will take some thought." He smiled gently, reaching out to touch Gail's face. "I do like the idea of being able to take you to meet my parents, though. They will love you, as I do."

Gail couldn't help being who she was, so she quipped, "Oh, yeah. Because there's nothing nerve-wracking about having the first woman who ever existed as your mother-in-law."

"At least you don't have to worry about her comparing you to other women," Sam piped up. Then he instantly looked contrite. Dean was dead. He shouldn't be joking.

Gail recognized the look on Sam's face, and she rose from her chair. She walked over to Sam and put her arms around his neck, kissing him on the forehead. "I don't think Dean would be upset with you making a joke now and then," she told him. "He'll just be upset if he missed some really good ones. But that's OK. We'll have him back before you know it, and we'll even let him have the next few ones, unopposed. Deal?"

Sam smiled at her. "Deal."

"Now, how are we going to get enough juice to take us back to Creation?" Gail asked Cas.

"I do have an idea, but Sam's not going to like it," Cas said.

Sam made a face. "I figured you were gonna say that." He sighed. "OK, give him a call. It's for Dean. I'll just have to keep reminding myself: it's for Dean. Hey, if Crowley can send you guys back to Creation, I'll even give him a drink of the good stuff."

Cas shook his head. "It's not Crowley I'm thinking of." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. An instant later, Gabriel appeared in front of them.

"Hey, Brother," he said to Castiel. "You rang?"

"Thank you for coming, Gabriel," Cas said.

Gabriel shrugged. "It was the least I could do."

Gail was frowning. "I completely agree."

Gabriel looked at her. "Well, hello, Kitten."

"Yeah, whatever," she said to him.

"Hey, why so chilly, Millie?" he asked her affably.

"Really?" she retorted. "Perhaps you heard about a little dust-up we had recently in Madagascar. A place from which you were noticeably absent, I might add. Thanks for all the wonderful help you gave us, Gabriel," she added sarcastically.

"Seems to me you did just fine," he said huffily. "Lucifer's gone, and so is Metatron. He was sort of like a free bonus feature. A game-in-game, if you will. So, what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?!" Sam said angrily. "My brother is dead, that's the problem!"

"Yeah, well, our Father always did love a good blood sacrifice," Gabriel said uncomfortably.

"Where were you?" Gail asked him, raising her voice. "We could have used you!"

"I've been helping out, with other things," Gabriel said defensively. "Lucifer wasn't the only game in town, you know. And even if I had been there, I wouldn't have been able to do anything for Dean. If our Father put a hit out on him, there was no way that any of us could stop it. But let's look at the big picture, here. You rid the human race of the Devil himself, and all it cost was one human sacrifice. Statistically, you're way ahead."

"Dean wasn't a statistic, he was our friend! Our brother!" Gail yelled. "Is that a smirk I see on your face? I will slap that right off of you!"

"Is that so?" Gabriel said, bemused. He lifted his arm, and Cas growled, "Try it, and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Gabriel looked at Cas, eyebrows raised. "Really, Cas? Last I looked, I outrank you. In every possible way."

Cas faced him. "Go ahead and think that. But let me tell you something you may not know. There's a very real possibility that I may soon be the next God, which means that I will outrank YOU, in the only way that really matters. And you and I are eternal beings. So, do you really want to test me?"

Gabriel thought about that for a minute. Crap. There was a very good chance that Castiel was right about that, and his Brother was excellent at holding grudges. Gabriel hadn't actually intended to do anything to Gail, anyway. He just wished she would speak to him with a little more respect. Then again, he guessed that from her point of view, he hadn't really earned the kind of respect he was looking for.

Gabriel took a step back from Cas and smiled ingratiatingly. "What do you need, Brother?"

Castiel described to Gabriel what they had in mind. The Archangel looked at all of them with a raised eyebrow. "Dark magic? Really, Kitten? You may give me holy hell about not having been around to help you deal with Lucifer, and I can't say much, because you're absolutely right. I should have been. But now you're telling me that you're going to use an ancient spell book written by the mother of the King of Hell to bring back a guy who God wanted dead? Isn't that kind of like a pot/kettle/black situation?" he said sardonically.

"No, because I don't think it was God who wanted Dean dead," Gail shot back. "Lucifer admitted to us that HE was the one who wrote those Tablets. I think God wants us to bring Dean back. He's supplied us with everything we need to make that happen. Including you."

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "Is she always this stubborn?" he asked Cas.

"Yes I am, when it comes to something I really believe in," Gail replied. Then she sighed. "But, what I think I hear you saying is that I'm being a bit heavy-handed about it. Cas would never say so because he's too much of a gentleman, but I know that I tend to do that, sometimes. So, I'll ask you: Will you please help us?"

Gabriel smiled. That was all he'd been looking for: a little sweet-talk, with a pinch of respect. And it just so happened that he thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea for them to have as many of the so-called God Squad on hand as they possibly could, for the dangers that lay ahead. If this worked, Gabriel could remind Senor Winchester at the appropriate moment that Dean owed Gabe for the latter's pivotal role in making his resurrection happen.

"Sure, I'll help you," Gabriel said pleasantly. "Just not right now."

Gail opened her mouth again, but Cas held his hand up. She wasn't wrong in anything she had said to their Brother, but she couldn't keep antagonizing Gabriel, either. Cas could threaten the Archangel all he wanted, but if it came down to a straight showdown, as things stood right now, Castiel would lose. "Why not right now?" Cas asked Gabriel.

Gabriel hooked a chair leg with his foot, pulling it away from the table. "Because I need a couple of days to regroup," he said, lines forming on his forehead. Had they been there before?

Cas took Gail's hand and led her over to her usual chair on the opposite side of the table. He pulled her chair out for her and sat her down, then he sat down, himself.

Gabriel smirked at that action, but when he spoke, he said, "Contrary to what my little Kitten here thinks, I HAVE been helping out. I'll bet you didn't know that you were being watched when you were in Egypt recently, did you?"

"That was you I felt, wasn't it?" Castiel asked him. "Metatron and I both commented on it. I assumed you were keeping yourself hidden because you had no desire to interact with Metatron."

"Well, there's that, too," Gabriel said, still smirking. Then his smile faded. "But no, that wasn't me. It was Raguel."

"What?!" Cas exclaimed. He'd been so startled by what Gabriel had said that he'd squeezed Gail's hand painfully for just a second. He dropped it immediately, looking at her apologetically.

"That's right," Gabriel said smugly. "He was watching all of you. So I threw up a protection shield around your group, and kept it going until you got back here to the States. Wait, that didn't come out right. That makes it sound like I actually vomited...Is it 'threw a protection shield up', maybe?" Gabriel looked at Sam. "Help me out here, smart guy."

But Sam was silent. Somber. If Dean was here, he'd probably be calling Gabriel a smartass, and comparing him to vomit. But Sam didn't have the heart to trade quips. His heart was in a drawer in the morgue at the police station.

For a wonder, Gabriel left Sam alone. Subtlety wasn't Gabe's strong suit, but he must have picked up on how Sam was feeling. Gabriel had always felt that the Winchester brothers' relationship was too co-dependent. But, just look at the dysfunction that was Gabriel's family. He and Castiel had the best relationship out of all of the higher-ranking Angels, yet Cas had just threated to throw down with his Brother. So maybe Gabe wasn't the best judge of healthy sibling relationships. He looked at Cas. "Yeah, and it wasn't too easy on me when you and the wifey took off to a separate location, for a while there. It takes a lot of juice to keep the shield strong, especially when it's bifurcated like that."

Gail was looking at Gabriel expressionlessly, but if what he was saying was true, she supposed she did owe him an apology. She opened her mouth to say so, but what came out instead was: "'Bifurcated'? Wow. That's a word you don't hear every day."

Gabriel looked at her, and then he started to grin. "I really do like you, Gail. Let's not fight, Kitten."

"I don't want to fight, either," she told him. "I've had quite enough of fighting, for a while."

"I swore off fighting, after the Angel Wars," Gabriel said wearily. "So many deaths. So much blood. And, for what? Now Heaven has no God. They need a leader up there, Cas. I know you and I have butted heads from time to time, but I really think it should be you."

Cas gave him a thin smile. That may be the nicest thing that Gabriel had ever said to him.

"Anyway, it's not just the shielding that's the problem," Gabriel continued. "Ever since you guys came and got me from Area 51, I've been feeling kind of...depleted, somehow. Like even when I'm rested, I'm not feeling up to full strength. I'm starting to wonder if we got all of my essence back from those dicks in uniform. Maybe they did a little probing on me, when I was out of it. Which is extremely ironic, if you think about it."

Cas thought about that. It wouldn't surprise him one bit to learn that that was indeed the case. But they were done with those men, weren't they? Getting Dean back was the focus now, and then, the election in Heaven. "All right, Gabriel," Cas said, sighing. He looked at Sam. "Is it all right if he stays here while he's recuperating?"

Now Sam was the one to sigh. He'd almost rather have had Crowley. But if Gabriel was willing to help them get Dean back, Sam could definitely put up with him for a couple of days.

"Sure, you can stay here, if you want," Sam said to Gabriel. After all, how high maintenance could the guy be? He was an Angel.

"Great," Gabriel said happily. He jumped to his feet. "Show me to my room. I think I'll take a nap. Call me when breakfast is ready, will you, Gigantor?"

Sam looked incredulously at Cas, who shrugged. Gabriel had always been a little left of centre. But if the Archangel wanted to rest, they should let him rest. The quicker he was back to full strength, the better. So Cas gave Sam an apologetic look, and Sam rose to escort Gabriel to one of the spare bedrooms.

"We're going to go home until morning," Cas told the men, looking at Gail. "We'll give you both an opportunity to rest."

"See you in the morning," Gail said. "Please rest up, both of you."

Then the Angels popped over to their house.

A couple of days passed uneventfully, and then, on the third morning, Gabriel announced that he felt strong enough to send Cas and Gail back in time.

"Just let me knock back a big breakfast first, for that extra oomph," Gabriel said with a half-smirk.

Gail rolled her eyes, but she said, "Come on, Sam, let's see what we can make."

The two of them started to cook breakfast, while Cas and Gabriel sat at the kitchen table.

"So, you haven't picked up a blade since the Angel Wars?" Cas asked Gabriel, just to make conversation.

"Nope. I keep telling you, I'm not a fighter, Cas," Gabriel said. "If this was the Sixties, I'd be a conscientious objector. I just think there's no need for us to fight. I'm not a violent individual. Which is kind of funny, considering that I'm the Patron Angel of postal workers."

Gail had been breaking eggs into a bowl in preparation for scrambling them, and she stopped and turned around to look at Gabriel. "You've got to be kidding," she said.

"I frequently kid, but in this case, I can assure you that I'm not," he said affably. "Can you imagine?"

Sam was reaching above the stove to get the steamer for the breakfast ham. Dean always wanted it fried, but Sam felt this was the healthier way to cook it. If they were able to get his brother back, though, Sam would deep-fry anything Dean wanted, and make extra helpings. But for right now, Gabriel was proving to be a bit of a handful. He was equal parts annoying and entertaining. Sam shook his head. "I don't think any postal workers have gone on any rampages for quite a while now," he remarked. "You've really gotta update your references, Dude."

"Well, excuuuuuuse me," Gabriel said, and Sam looked at him quickly, to see if he was being funny or not. As was the case with most Angels, it was impossible to tell.

"So after you eat breakfast, you can send Gail and myself back, then?" Cas asked Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded. "Can I have some more coffee, Kitten?" he asked Gail, holding out his mug.

Gail rolled her eyes again. Last she looked, his legs had been intact. But she didn't want to antagonize Gabriel when he was this close to helping them, so she came forward with the carafe of coffee and gave him a refill, without saying anything. Cas looked at her gratefully.

As Gail was returning the carafe to the coffeemaker, there was a noise outside the door that led to the garage. Cas stood immediately, drawing his blade. Gail took hers out of her pants pocket, and they moved closer to the door.

Frank came into the kitchen, looking at them both. "Geez, I was hoping for a bit of a warmer welcome," he quipped.

Gail let out a relieved breath. She and Cas put away their weapons, and Gail ran to her brother, throwing her arms around him.

"Hello, Frank," Cas said, smiling. "How is Jody? Are the two of you back home now?"

"Yes, and she's fine," Frank replied, giving his sister a squeeze. "Her doctor gave her some vitamins and told her to get some extra rest, so she's home right now, doing that." He looked at Sam. "I just came to see how you were doing, buddy."

"I'm OK, Frank," Sam told Gail's brother. "Once again, congratulations. Want some breakfast?"

Frank was puzzled. This was too weird. Here Sam was, calmly making breakfast as if he hadn't just killed and burned his only brother a few short days ago. Cas and Gail were here with him, at least, which was good. And: "Gabriel, right?" Frank said, moving forward to the table. "How are you? What are you doing here?"

Cas and Sam and Gail were shooting furtive glances at each other, but Gabriel gave Frank a half-shrug. "Can't a Brother just pay a visit to another Brother?" Gabriel said casually.

But now, Gail's mind was working. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she said to Cas. "Have a seat," she told her brother.

She took Cas's hand and popped him out to the library area. He looked at her questioningly. "I think we need to tell Frank," Gail said to her husband.

"Why?" Cas asked her.

"Because I thought about it, and if we're successful, seeing Dean alive and well again is going to be a shock for everyone," she replied. "It'll be a wonderful, happy shock, but it'll be a shock. I'm not so sure it's a good idea for Jody to get a shock like that in her condition."

Cas looked startled. He hadn't thought of that. In fact, he hadn't really thought that far ahead in terms of what they were going to tell everyone, if this did work. He'd only been thinking one step at a time. But Gail was right: they certainly didn't want to be responsible for upsetting Jody, at this point.

So they returned to the kitchen, where Sam was setting an extra place for Frank.

"What's up, you guys?" Frank asked the Angels. He was sitting back in his chair, looking at them all suspiciously. "I know there's something fishy going on here."

Gail sighed. "What if we told you that we might have a way to bring Dean back?" she asked her brother.

Frank raised his eyebrows. "I'd say you were full of - " But then, it dawned on him. So THAT'S why everyone was so calm. The Angels had come up with some Angelic plan, and that was why Gabriel was here. He started to smile. "I'd say that's great!" he enthused.

"There are no guarantees that it will work, but we're going to try our best," Cas told Frank. "But Gail thought, and quite rightly so, that if it does work, Jody should be prepared for the shock."

Frank looked at his sister warmly. "Thanks, kiddo. That was really considerate of you."

She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, I can't have my niece or nephew stressed out before they're even born," she told him. "There'll be years for them to be traumatized, once they realize that you're their father."

Gabriel was smirking. "So it's not just me she talks to like that?"

"Nope," Frank said good-naturedly. "When it comes to family, she doesn't discriminate. She'll sass anybody." He took a sip of his coffee. "So, how's this whole thing supposed to work?"

Gabriel looked at Cas. "Well, as I was about to say before this guy showed up, you have to get my horn from the annex to the weapons room in Heaven, and then - "

"What?" Cas interrupted him. "Your horn? You didn't tell me that!"

Gabriel shrugged. "Well, I'm telling you now. What's the problem?"

"I'm not God yet, that's the problem," Cas retorted. "I don't know if I can get into the annex. Why don't you come up with me? As you so astutely pointed out, you're of a higher rank than I am. If I can't get in, surely you can."

"Noooo, I'm not going up there," Gabriel said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Cas asked him, impatiently.

"I haven't been there for years," Gabriel said uncomfortably. "All that bright, sterile white. All those rules. Not my kind of place."

Cas started to smile. "You may be surprised," he said, glancing at Gail. "For one thing, it's not all white, any more. It's a full spectrum of colours, now."

Gail was smiling at her husband. Gabriel looked from one Angel to the other and then back again. "Why, you little devils," Gabriel said softly, and now he was grinning, too. "Would the change have happened on the night of a certain wedding, by any chance?"

"May-be," Gail said, trying to look innocent. She and Cas had gravitated together now, and Cas took her hand in his, kissing it tenderly.

"What would that have to do with - " Frank started to say, and then he looked at Cas and Gail, and the way they were looking at each other. They were kissing now. "Aww. geez," Frank moaned. "I don't know if I want any breakfast, now."

Gail shrugged. "Hey, don't ask the question if you don't want the answer," she said. She was touching Cas's face, and he was nuzzling her hand with his cheek.

Gabriel was staring at them. He'd never seen Castiel like this before. Talk about taming the beast. Holy moly. "You see, Frank, when two Angels love each other very much..."Gabriel wisecracked.

Frank laughed. He got up from his chair, clapping Gabriel on the shoulder on his way over to the counter. "You're all right, Gabe," he said to the Archangel.

Sam was spooning the scrambled eggs out into a serving bowl. "Don't," he said to Frank. "You'll only encourage him."

Frank nudged Sam. "Hey, if he's going to help us get our guy back, he's all right with me," he told Dean's brother.

"And, speaking to your other point, a lot of Heaven's laws have been changed now, to reflect modern times and attitudes," Cas said to Gabriel. "You can thank Gail for a lot of those changes. She was the head of the board that enacted them."

Gabriel's eyebrows shot up. "Really?!" he exclaimed.

Gail rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. Please don't tell me you're a sexist."

"Nooo, I love women," Gabriel replied quickly. "In fact, I've loved as many of them as I could," he added with a comic leer. He took some eggs from the bowl that Sam had set down. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I guess the place HAS come a long way since I was there last."

"Yes, but I fear it may regress, unless we do something about it," Cas remarked. He told Gabriel about Patricia. "That's why both Gail and I are putting our names in as candidates for the High Office. Actually, that reminds me," he added, taking the papers out of his blazer pocket. "We may as well fill these out while you're eating. Then we can drop them off when we go up there."

They sat down and started to fill out the application forms. Frank craned his neck to look. "My sister, filling out a job application to be God," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Now, I've seen everything. Hey Cas, what's your Social Security Number? One?"

But then, Frank looked around for the other person who should be chiming in right about now with some choice jokes of his own, and his face fell. "I'm sorry, man," he said to Sam, putting his fork down. Suddenly, he had lost his appetite.

"We're going to get him back, Frank," Sam said quietly. "I have faith."

Once the men had finished eating, Gabriel got up from his chair. He patted his stomach, stretched his body, and then looked at the Angels. "OK, let's go, then."

"Really? You're going with us?" Gail said, her face brightening.

Gabriel put his arm around her shoulders. "You've piqued my curiosity," he told her. "Colours? New laws? Now that, I've gotta see. Besides, you're right, Castiel. You might not have the chops to get us into that room. That's where all the heavy-duty holy objects are." He gave Gail a squeeze. "You're in for a real treat, Kitten. Sexist or not, you'll probably be the first woman ever to enter that room."

Gail had to admit that the idea excited her. The first woman ever. Wow. She couldn't wait to see what treasures might be in there.

"We'll be back shortly," Cas told Frank and Sam, and then the Angels were gone.

"Wow. I love what you've done with the place," Gabriel quipped. He was looking around at all the vibrant colours in Heaven, nodding his approval.

Gail's lips twitched as they walked up to Laurel's desk. Cas gave Laurel the paperwork to file, and she smiled broadly. "I think it's wonderful that you're both going to be candidates," she told them. Then she lowered her voice. "But don't tell Patricia I said that. She would think I was being disloyal."

Before Cas had the chance to wonder what she meant by that, Gabriel was walking around the reception desk. "What a lovely woman you are," he said. He seized her hand. "Please, tell me you're single."

Laurel was bemused. "And you are..."

"Don't you recognize an Archangel when you see one?" Gabriel asked her. "An Archangel?!" Laurel exclaimed.

"He's not an Archangel," Patricia snapped from behind the group. "There aren't any Archangels any more. He's probably just saying that to get into your pants."

Gabriel turned around slowly to look at her. "Don't tell me, let me guess. You're Patricia."

She was staring at him. "A gentleman would introduce himself."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose. Oh, this was a frosty one, all right. No wonder Castiel and Gail wanted to run against her. He walked over to her. "Maybe a gentleman would," he said evenly. "But I'm no gentleman, lady. I'm the Archangel, Gabriel."

Patricia's mouth fell open. She looked at Castiel. "What are you trying to pull here?" she asked him harshly. "Do you think that, by bringing another male here to pose as an Archangel, you can intimidate me into backing down?"

Gail was looking at Patricia with wide eyes. Yikes. Cas hadn't been exaggerating. Gail hadn't seen Patricia for quite a while, but Cas had told his wife what Patricia was like now. And now, Gail was seeing confirmation of that with her own eyes.

"Boy, do you have a screw loose, lady," Gabriel said bluntly.

Gail's hand flew to her mouth. She didn't want to laugh out loud, but Gabriel was making it difficult. So she manufactured a cough, instead.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort," Castiel said stiffly, in the meantime. "I'm bringing an Archangel of the Lord to Heaven, to get the Heavenly artifact which rightly belongs to him. And the last time I looked, the election had not yet been held. Therefore, Gabriel is our superior, and as such, we all must defer to him."

Gabriel smirked. "What he said," the Archangel said to Patricia. "And, for the record, I was totally trying to get into her pants." He gestured to Cas and Gail to follow him. He knew a great exit line when he'd said it.

The three Angels walked down the corridor. When they were at a safe distance, Gail let out the laugh that she'd been holding in, and Gabriel smiled at her.

"Wow, you weren't kidding," the Archangel said to Cas. "What is her problem?"

Cas shrugged. "We're not really sure. At one time, we thought she was our friend. But while we're trying to update and modernize Heaven, she seems to want to throw us back into the Middle Ages, again."

"I'm not surprised. One look at her and you can tell there are a lot of things she wouldn't approve of. What she needs is a good - " Gabriel broke off, looking at Gail uneasily. He cleared his throat. " - snuggle," he finished lamely.

Gail started to laugh again. He was pretty funny, sometimes. If only he weren't so mercurial. But, you couldn't win them all. He was still all right, as Archangels went.

They came to the door of the weapons room. Cas had needed the key to the room when he and Kevin had come up here to obtain more weapons to fight the death squads, and even then, Kevin had had to stand outside in the corridor. But Gabriel would have absolutely no problem getting in.

Gabriel opened the other door easily, and the other Angels filed in behind him. The Archangel snapped his fingers, and the room was instantly illuminated. Gail looked around in astonishment. She had never been here before. There were all manner of weapons here, including some she had never seen before. Wow. Dean would fall in love with this room. But that thought made her feel sad, so she pushed it away.

The men had both been here before, so they were more blase about the sight. Gabriel had already moved down the aisle and to the left, where the annex was located. Cas trailed eagerly behind him, and Gail hurried to catch up to them.

Gabriel put his hand on the door to the annex, and it swung open immediately. He grinned at the others. "Archangel," he said simply. He walked in, snapping his fingers again to light up the room.

Cas followed, but when Gail tried to go in behind them, she was held up at the doorway by an invisible force. "Oh, come on," she groaned. But there was no use. Cas came over and reached out for her hand, but the doorway wouldn't let them connect.

"I'm sorry, my love," he said to her.

"This had better be due to length of service," she fumed. "Seniority, I can understand, but if it's because I don't have a penis, I'm gonna be pissed."

Gabriel snickered. "Have I told you lately that I like you, Kitten?" He looked at Castiel. "You definitely married up."

Cas smiled. "I'm well aware of that fact," he said.

Gail sighed. "OK, I may as well go back to the bunker, then," she told the men. "I'll see you there when you're done."

She popped back to the bunker and explained the situation to Sam and Frank. "Actually, since we have a few minutes, there's something I need to talk to you about, too," Frank said to her. He described Rob's dream of a couple of days ago. He and Jody had spoken to Rob since, and there had been no repeat. But, still: "Jody and I think we should check into it. Maybe, while you and Cas are doing your thing, if you could give me the piece of paper with that lady's address, I could go check it out."

Gail nodded. "Sure, Frank. I'll go get it right now." She popped out immediately as Frank and Sam looked at each other, bemused. That was so much like Cas that they supposed the old adage of married couples starting to act like each other the longer they were married was true.

Gail popped into her and Cas's bedroom, thinking how great it was not to have to worry about Lucifer lurking outside, looking to kidnap her. They just had to get Dean back. There were so many things that would be better for them all, going forward. But their world would be unbearable without Dean in it.

She reached into the bureau drawer and pulled out the envelope, then winked herself back to the bunker, showing it to Frank.

"Do you want somebody riding shotgun when you go?" Sam said to Gail's brother, who looked at him in surprise. "Hey, it would give me something to do," Sam said with a half-shrug. "I can't just sit around here, feeling sorry for myself. At least if I can do something constructive, something to help somebody else, maybe karma will pay it forward. You know what I mean?"

"Sure, Sam," Frank said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. God, this had better work. At first, Frank had been pretty mad about being left out of the loop and allowed to grieve for Dean, without any hope. But now, he could kind of understand where they'd been coming from. Hope was a bit of a double-edged sword, sometimes. If this didn't work, it would be even harder on Sam, because it was obvious to Frank that Sam fully expected to get Dean back. If it didn't happen, he was going to have that much farther to fall. And, considering the source of the spell, Frank could also understand why the Angels would want to keep the project under wraps.

"Actually, I'll call my guy and get you a fake FBI badge," Sam said to Frank. "Do you still have a suit that fits? We'll go in as Agents. That's usually enough to get people to open up."

"Sure, that sounds - " Frank started to say, and then he said, "Hey! What do you mean, 'a suit that still fits'? What are you trying to say, Winchester?"

Sam smiled. "Nothing. It's just that every time I turn around, you're either eating, or cracking open a beer."

Frank pretended to frown. "It's my wife that's gonna be getting fat soon, not me. Although you'd better not ever say that to her."

Sam continued to smile. "Are you kidding? I'm way smarter than that." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll get you fixed up."

As Sam moved away to call his contact, Frank looked down at Gail. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, with this spell thing," he said to her.

She frowned. "So do I. But we've got to try, Frank." She gave him the envelope. "We'll compare notes when we both get back from where we're going."

A couple of minutes later, Cas and Gabriel popped back in. Gail walked up to them, pointing to the case that Gabriel was holding in his arms. "That's it, I presume?" she asked the Archangel.

"Yeah. And I'm really upset right now," he told her irritably.

"Why? What's the matter?" Gail asked him, concerned.

"It's been all this time, and I still can't come up with a good context joke about me being extremely horny," Gabriel complained.

Gail smirked. "Can I see it?"

"Now THERE'S a setup if ever I've heard one," Gabriel said happily. He opened the case, and they all looked curiously at the object inside.

Sam was surprised. He didn't know what he had expected, really, but it was kind of...unimpressive-looking, if he were to be honest. Just a plain, tubular instrument, more tarnished silver than gold.

"What?" Gabriel asked, seeing his expression. "Not fancy enough for you? Let me tell you something, Boy. If I were to blow this thing right now, the entire Midwest would crumble. There's a reason only Heaven's most elite can get into that annex, you know." There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment as Sam, Frank and Gail contemplated that. Castiel already knew, of course. He had seen first-hand what most of these Biblical weapons could do when they were used at their optimum strength.

"But don't worry, I'm not gonna actually blow it," Gabriel assured them. "I'm just going to hold it."

"I have so many jokes running through my head right now, but I'm too scared to say any of them," Frank said somewhat nervously.

Gabriel smirked, looking from Gail to her brother and back again. "You two may not be related by blood, but I can see the resemblance, anyway."

Gail's forehead wrinkled. Had they actually ever told him that she and Frank weren't related by blood? She guessed they must have, at one point; otherwise, how would he know?

Anyway, that made things easier, because now she could speak openly. She quickly told Cas about Rob's dream, and the plan to have Frank and Sam go to the address on the piece of paper they had gotten from the house in Denver. Cas nodded. He thought it was a good idea, and he also thought it would be good for Sam to have something to do while Cas and Gail were away.

"Let's go, then," Castiel said, taking Gail by the hand.

"What? Now?" she said.

Cas was puzzled. "Well, yes. We need to go as soon as possible. Once we get the blood, you'll still have to make up the potion, and then we'll have to...rescue Dean from the morgue. Sam said we only have a week, and it's almost up."

He was right, of course. She was just being silly. "What's the matter, my love?" Cas asked her.

She looked down at herself. "Do you think I'm dressed okay?"

Cas looked at her, uncomprehending, and then he laughed. She was so cute. "Our vessels will be here, in the bunker," he explained to her. "When we appear to my family in corporeal form, we will be dressed in the garb of the era." He took her hands in his. "But it doesn't matter what you are wearing. They will love you. I guarantee it."

Gail smiled at him. "Thank you, sweetie. I'm just being silly. It's just that the idea of Adam and Eve being your in-laws is really intimidating."

"Haven't you hung around with God, and Death?" Frank asked her. "You've got this, kiddo."

Gail looked warmly at her brother, appreciating the support. "I take back what I said about your baby. That's going to be the luckiest kid in the universe. I ought to know." They shared a quick hug, and then Cas led the group to his and Gail's bedroom in the bunker. He lay down on the bed, and Gail lay down beside him. The Angels held hands as Gabriel opened the case again, revealing the horn. "Things are gonna get really bright for a minute," the Archangel warned everyone. "Angels, close your eyes. You humans will need to turn away, until I let you know that it's OK. But actually, there won't be anything to look at, anyway. Once I send these two back, their vessels will just be lying here empty, as if they were merely asleep." Then he grinned. "But you'd better not try anything that you don't want me to see, Cas. I'll be sitting right here till the time limit is up, so I can bring you back on time."

"How long do we have?" Cas asked him.

"I can only give you six hours," Gabriel told him. "Since we're going back to, well, practically the beginning of everything, the power will burn out very quickly. So, no dawdling. If you do have extra time, though, give Crowley a kick in the ass, from me." He looked at Gail. "And watch what you eat while you're there, Kitten. I know fruit is usually good for you, but in this instance, I'd definitely recommend the cheesecake." He winked at her, and she smiled.

"OK, everyone. Avert your eyes," Gabriel said. "I'm gonna pull this puppy out, now."

"There's your joke," Frank said, and Gabriel did a double-take. Cas gave Gail's hand a reassuring squeeze. Then Gabriel took his horn out of the case, and a moment later, there was a blinding white flash that held for a minute or so. Then it disappeared abruptly.

Gabriel locked up the case. "OK, you boys can turn back around, now." Frank and Sam did. Gabriel had been right; Cas and Gail were still just laying there on the bed, side by side, holding hands. But their essences were now gone. The humans looked at each other. Imagine being back there, where it had all began. Wow.

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and an hourglass appeared on the nightstand by the bed. He snapped his fingers again, and the sand started to trickle. But instead of trickling down, it was moving up, from the bottom to the top.

Sam looked at Gabriel, and the Archangel smirked. "You know me, Sammy. Always the nonconformist." He thought for a moment. "Do you think you could loan me some reading material? Where's Dean's porn collection?" Sam frowned, but Gabriel shrugged. "What? We all know he's got one." After a moment's silence, he sighed. "Fine. Maybe some TV, then." Another snap of the fingers, and a TV appeared. suspended in mid-air.

"That's pretty neat," Frank marveled. "You're like the Great Gazoo, or something."

"Shut up, Dum-Dum," Gabriel said affably.

"Well, I guess we'll get going, now," Sam said. "I put a rush on getting Frank's ID made up, but I'm not sure if we'll be back in six hours."

"No rush," Gabriel said offhandedly. "I'll be here until tomorrow."

"I thought you said it would be six hours," Frank said, puzzled.

"Time is very fluid," Gabriel said mysteriously. Then he broke into a grin. "Besides, I wanted to hurry Castiel along a little. Once he gets back in the loving bosom of his family and his uncomplicated, shepherd's lifestyle, it'll be hard to get him back out. Not only that, but if Cain pisses him off, he might change the entire course of history."

Sam and Frank looked at each other, then back at the Archangel. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Gabriel said, almost cheerfully. "Gail had better help keep that temper of his in check, or we might all be walking around active volcanoes tomorrow, with dinosaurs as our Overlords." He smirked. "Well, you guys would be, anyway. I'd still be an Archangel, and I'd still be awesome."

Great. Just great. The humans sighed. But there was no sense worrying about something they couldn't control. What they could control was on the piece of paper in Frank's pocket. That, and breaking the news to Jody as gently as possible that Dean might be coming back from the dead soon.

"Come on, let's go," Sam said to Gail's brother, and they left the bunker.

A short while later, Sam was sitting with Jody in her and Frank's house. The men had gone to get Frank's fake ID, and then they had called Jody to let her know that they were coming. Then, they had told her what Cas and Gail were up to, and she had been delighted. So now, she and Sam were waiting for Frank to put his suit on. Then, they were going to call Chuck and have him pop them over to Denver. He had a cell phone now, as a back-up Angel contact for everyone. Jody had called Chuck, stating that Cas and Gail were unavailable for transportation, as they were grieving in private.

They'd decided that they were going to keep what was going on with Cas and Gail confidential, but Frank and Jody were unaware that Chuck already knew. However, he didn't know what Frank and Jody might know, though Chuck was aware that Sam knew, of course. And for all Chuck knew, Cas might still be in the dark about the whole thing. The situation had all the ingredients of a classic sitcom series of misunderstandings. Or it would have, if the subject matter weren't so serious.

Fortunately, there were a lot of other things to talk about. When Chuck arrived, Jody told him her news, and he was elated. "A brand new life," Chuck said. "That's terrific." Then he looked at Sam. "I'm so sorry, Sam," Chuck said sincerely. "I know that you and I and Dean didn't always see eye to eye, but I think that he and I are - were - getting to be better friends." Phew. That had been close.

Frank came downstairs, dressed in his wedding suit. "Still fits, smartass," he said to Sam. Then he tugged at the waistband. "I think the dry cleaners shrunk the pants, though."

Sam smirked. "Damn dry cleaners."

"Are you ready, guys?" Chuck asked the men. They nodded, and he grabbed their arms and winked them away.

It had been a slow day for Cathy. She'd seen one prospective couple this morning and had begun the screening process on them. Then she'd had a client just after lunchtime who'd wanted a couple of lucky charms and a spell to help her get the job she was applying for.

Now, Cathy was considering closing early. She had just gotten up from her desk to lock the door when two men in business suits entered. Her wind went up right away. They looked like they could be cops.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," she said, smiling pleasantly. "Can I help you?"

"Agent Potter," Sam said, flashing her his badge. "This is Agent Weasley." Frank followed suit with his own badge. "We're from the FBI. We'd like to ask you a couple of questions."

"Certainly," Cathy said, gesturing to the chairs in front of her desk. "Please, have a seat." Her stomach was churning. What did they know?

"We need to ask you about a couple of individuals," Frank said, as he and Sam sat down. "If we tell you their names, can you look them up in your records?"

"Are these people supposed to be clients of mine?" Cathy asked them. "Because if they are, I can't help you. It's a confidentiality issue."

"No, these people would have been adopted," Sam said. "We have your name as a contact with regard to one of them." He told her Gail's name, and Cathy's heart stopped. No. Oh, no. Once again, she wondered how much these men knew. She tried to brazen it out.

"Adopted? Surely you're mistaken," she said as calmly as she could. "I'm a Wiccan. I dispense herbs and holistic medicines. That's all. Nothing else."

Frank mentioned his mother's name. "Can you check your records for her, then? It would have been a number of years ago, so you may not remember. But there's got to be a reason we were given your name and address."

Cathy put her hands in her lap because they were beginning to shake. It seemed as if these detectives were just on a fishing expedition; still, she supposed she'd better at least make a show of checking. If she didn't, it would look suspicious, wouldn't it?

"I have my old records in the back," she told them. "Wait here."

Cathy went into the storage room and took her cell phone out of her pocket.

"The FBI are sniffing around," she said into the phone. "What should I tell them?"

"Nothing," he snapped. "Tell them nothing." Gail's father was angry. He had no idea why the FBI would suddenly be investigating - wait. "What do these detectives look like, and what names did they give you?" he asked Cathy suspiciously. She told him, and he smiled grimly. It hadn't taken them long to replace the dead one, had it? Well, good for them.

"I repeat, tell them nothing," he said to Cathy. "They have no proof of anything, and they can do nothing to us. Let me know if anyone else comes around, asking about her or the boy." Then he hung up abruptly.

Cathy put the cell phone away and took a moment to compose herself. Thank God he hadn't been angry at her. Still, she had to get rid of those men, before she ruined everything.

She came back out to the office. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I don't have any of those names in my files. And now, I'm afraid I must ask you to leave. I'm closing for the day."

"Why do we have your name and address as a contact, then?" Frank persisted.

Cathy glared at him balefully. "I'm sure I do not know."

Sam nudged Frank, and they rose from their chairs. "Thank you for your time," Sam said to the woman.

But Frank was frustrated. That was it? No way. "We can subpoena your records, you know," he said to Cathy, trying to intimidate her.

"Go right ahead, but you'll need more than a magic wand to get them," Cathy said sarcastically. "Next time, if you're going to use aliases, try not to make them so obviously fake."

Sam and Frank left the office and walked down the steps to the street. "Agents Potter and Weasley," Frank grumbled. "Way to go, Sam."

Sam gave him a half-shrug. "Sorry, man. That usually works. In any event, I wasn't really expecting too much. There's something fishy about that woman, though. She knows a lot more than she was willing to tell us."

"I think so, too," Frank said. "She seemed a little too eager to get rid of us."

Chuck had been sitting on a park bench across the street from the building, enjoying a bit of fresh air. "What now, guys?" he asked.

Frank made a face. "As soon as we figure it out, we'll let you know." They walked around to the alleyway, and Chuck winked them home.

VIGNETTE - MOTHER AND CHILD REUNION

Cas and Gail walked hand in hand through the meadow towards the little house that Adam and Eve called home. Gail was nervous again. "Do I look all right?" she asked her husband.

"You look beautiful," Cas said. He stopped walking and turned to her, putting his arms around her waist. He gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Please don't worry."

"What should I call you?" Gail asked him now. "Are you Abel? Or, are you Castiel?"

He'd been wondering about that, too. This was new territory, even for Castiel. "I'm not really sure," he told her. "I don't think I'm 'Abel' to tell you that." His lips twitched.

Gail rewarded him with a laugh. "When did Frank get here?" she quipped.

Cas took her by the hand again and they approached the house. Cas lifted his hand to knock on the door, but suddenly it opened, and a medium-sized woman with grey hair stood there.

"Hello," Cas said. "I wonder if we might be 'Abel' to come in and talk to you for a moment."

Gail burst out laughing, and the woman looked at her curiously. Oh, great. Thanks, Cas. Your mother's first impression of me is that I'm a laughing fool.

But Eve smiled warmly. "We used to make jokes like that all the time," she said to Gail. Then she held out her arms to Cas. "My son. My beautiful, tender-hearted son."

His face lit up, and he embraced his mother. "I didn't know if you'd recognize me," Cas told her softly.

Eve gave him a squeeze. "Are you kidding? I'd know my baby anywhere," she said. Then she pulled out of the embrace and looked at Gail. "And I'm hoping you're going to tell me that this is your wife," Eve added.

"Yes, Mother," Cas said, smiling. "This is Gail."

"I'm so happy to meet you," Eve said, putting her hand on Gail's arm. "I'm so glad my son took a wife. I hope the two of you will be as happy as Adam and I are. Please, come in, come in."

She ushered them into the house. "I'll bring some refreshments," Eve told the couple.

"No, Mom, let me do it," Cas said quickly. "I'd like for you and Gail to get acquainted."

Eve smiled as Gail sat down. "Abel was always very eager to help me around the house," she told Cas's wife. "He's a very considerate boy."

Gail was tongue-tied. This was so surreal. She had no idea what to say. Absolutely none.

Cas brought some bread and cheese and a carafe of wine over to the table. "I think my wife must be a little shy," he said to his mother. "She is not usually this quiet."

Eve smiled gently. "I can understand that," she said, lifting the carafe. She poured a cup of wine and handed it to Gail. Gail thanked her mother-in-law, and Eve's smile widened. "It can be very intimidating, meeting your husband's mother for the first time," Eve remarked. "Luckily, I never had to deal with that problem."

Gail laughed, and then so did Eve. Cas smiled happily. He sat down beside Gail, taking her hand.

"I'm very happy to see the two of you being so loving," Eve said warmly. "Your father and I are still like that, after lo, these many, many years." She poured Cas a glass of wine, and then she poured one for herself. "Let us have a toast," Eve proposed. "To a long and happy marriage. Though you'll have to go quite a ways until you catch up to your father and me."

"How many years has it been, now?" Cas asked his mother.

"Just over two hundred," Eve answered calmly.

Gail nearly spat her wine out. "Two hundred?!" she exclaimed, swallowing her wine with a gulp.

"I know, child. And don't I look good for my age?" Eve said, smiling again.

Gail looked at Cas, open-mouthed. He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "My parents lived a very long and happy life together," he told his wife. "And they were extremely affectionate with one another, for each and every one of their years of married life. Where do you think I get it from?" Then he looked around the room. "Where IS Father, by the way?"

Eve smiled yet again. She couldn't seem to stop smiling. She was so happy to see her son. She knew, of course, that he and his wife had come here from the distant future. But the Father had told her that there would be a time when she would see her youngest son here wearing a different face, and he would be coming here with a woman, seeking a sample of his own blood and that of his brother's. Most would have been upset to hear such outlandish things, but Eve had received The Word with equanimity. As the first women to have ever walked the Earth, she knew many things. She'd known from the instant she gave birth to her sons, at an impossibly advanced age, that the eldest was going to murder the youngest. God the Father had decreed that it must be so. He was the Creator, the Father of Everything, and His Will was The Will. So she had birthed her sons and loved them both, as best she could. But ultimately, she had to let the both of them go. As a mother, it was heartbreaking, but she'd had no choice. But then afterwards, God had rewarded her and Adam with centuries more of life together as a close, loving couple, and He had seen fit to create a younger generation of men and women to populate the Earth. But neither Eve nor Adam ever met any of those people. Their sacrifice had already been taken. So they lived together as happily as they could for eons after the First Murder, just the two of them, and they'd died peacefully in each others' arms, when it was time.

Eve looked at Cas. "Your father is out at the back of the property, trying to mend the fence so your sheep don't get away, again."

If Cas hadn't been an Angel, he would have flushed at that. He remembered. Apparently, his flock had had a wandering spirit, not unlike himself. A couple of the bolder ones had taken to gnawing at the back fence, trying to open up a gap large enough for them to walk through. Abel had found it funny, but Adam had been annoyed. Every time he turned around, it seemed he was having to make repairs to that same fence.

"I would like to go and see him for a moment," Cas said. He kissed Gail's hand, then released it. "Do you mind, my love?" he asked her.

"Of course not," Gail replied. They'd come all this way. Of course he should see his father.

"Go, my son. I'll take good care of Gail," Eve said softly. "Perhaps we'll have another cup of wine," she added mischievously, "and have some...'girl talk', is the expression, if I'm not mistaken."

Gail laughed again. Cas had been right; his mother was wonderful.

Cas stood from his chair. "I'll see you in a few minutes, then," he said to the women. And then, he was gone.

Eve replenished Gail's cup, and then her own. "My son loves you very much, I can tell," Eve said, nodding her head with approval. "I'm very glad he made a good marriage. He was always so meek. I had thought that he was fated to be alone."

"He's not meek anymore," Gail said with a small smile. "He's gentle and loving, but he's definitely not meek. And for the record, I love him very much, too. I'll always be good to him and I'll never hurt him, I can promise you that."

"I believe you, Gail," Eve said. "I can tell how much you love my son, just by the expression on your face when you look at him. He has the same expression, when he looks at you."

They sipped their wine in silence for a minute, and then Gail said, "Maybe it's the wine talking, but could I ask you a question? It's a bit of a personal question, so feel free to say no." Eve nodded her encouragement, so Gail continued, "I always wondered: why did you eat that fruit? I mean, it was forbidden, wasn't it? And didn't you have lots of other fruit to pick from? I mean, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but ask: Why?"

Eve started to frown, and Gail instantly regretted opening up her big mouth. She put her wine down on the table. Great. And they'd been getting along so well, too. Why couldn't she learn to just shut her pie-hole once in a while? Then that made her think of Dean, and now she felt even worse.

Eve was looking at Gail expressionlessly, and then she put her cup of wine down as well. "As a woman, I understand why you're asking that question," she said to her daughter-in-law. "I am aware that untold future generations labour under the impression that I am to blame for the oppression of women, because I partook of the forbidden fruit, and then bade Adam to do it, too. But that is not what actually happened." She paused, then continued: "You're probably aware that the tree with the forbidden fruit was located in Eden. But what you wouldn't know is that Adam and I were still in Eden when I had our first son, Cain. He was a fussy baby, who always required a lot of attention. And as he grew, so did his curiosity. When he was a young boy, and I was pregnant with Abel, it was harder for me to keep up with him. So I told Cain that it was all right for him to go exploring, as long as he told either his father or myself where he was going. We also had God the Father watching over all of us. There was no such thing as 'Stranger Danger', then," Eve continued, with a thin smile. Then her smile faded. "Or, so I thought. Anyway, you can probably figure out what happened next. It was Cain who the serpent tempted. My eldest son was the one who tasted of the fruit, not me. As soon as he'd taken a bite, he knew he had done wrong. He ran home to me, terrified and weeping. What could I do, Gail? I was his mother, and he was my son. So when God the Father asked who had eaten of the fruit, I told him it was me."

Gail fumbled for her cup of wine, draining the contents. This was unbelievable! Damn Crowley! He had murdered her husband, he had made her life miserable in too many ways to count, and now, he was apparently responsible for the ills of generations upon generations of women. Poor Eve. She had gone down in history as a wicked woman who had thumbed her nose at God, and then taken her husband down with her.

"I'm aware that my punishment trickled down to all future women, in a manner of speaking," Eve said wryly. "And I'm afraid you're all still paying for it. That is why we are regarded as the weaker sex, and why we are considered inferior to men. But as you and I both know, that is definitely not the case. That's why I didn't mind sharing my story with you. Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not good enough, Gail. You are every bit as capable as any man."

"Thank you," Gail said, looking warmly at her mother-in-law. Then her forehead wrinkled. "But, didn't God know the truth?"

"Oh yes, He knew," Eve said, matter-of-factly. "He informed us that whomever had taken the first bite would be banished from Eden forever, while the others would stay. So then, I compounded the lie. I picked three pieces of fruit, and Adam, Cain and I each took a bite, in His presence. I needed to keep my family together, Gail. So, we were all three banished. Even Abel doesn't know the true story. He was born outside the Garden, and when he grew old enough, Adam and I told him the widely accepted version of the story. He never judged me and he never held it against me, even though life out here was a lot harder for him than it would have been in there. But I believe that is why my youngest son has always felt like an outsider."

"You're right; I always have," Cas said. He had just come in from the back door of the house. He had taken an extra minute to wipe his feet before entering the house, as his mother had always taught him, and he had inadvertently overheard her admission. He walked forward now, slowly. "Mother? You took the blame?" he said, dazed.

Eve sighed. "I never intended for you to find out. But, perhaps it's just as well. You're better than most, I'm sure, but I think it's time that men stopped treating women as somehow lesser beings." Then her expression softened. "My son. My sweet, wonderful, complicated son. Come here, please." She patted the seat beside her. "I'm very sorry, Abel. I suppose I should have told you the truth. But there just never seemed to be a good time for it. When you and your brother got older, I could see that the two of you were developing a fractious relationship, so I kept my counsel, not wanting to make it worse. But I regret that you have always been the one who seems to have gotten the short shrift, Castiel, all throughout history. Perhaps that is why God has seen fit to bless you with a loving wife and a family who care very much about you."

"I never felt like I was good enough," Cas confessed to his mother. "All of my existence, I never felt like I fit in, anywhere. I never felt like I deserved to be happy. That's why I spent so much time alone." Now there were tears rolling down his cheeks. "That is why I am here, Mom," he told her. "My family is broken apart, and I'm here to put it back together."

Eve reached out her arms and embraced her son, laying his head on her chest. She stroked his hair and began to sing to him. They stayed that way for a moment, and then Cas straightened up. Eve wiped the tears from his face. "My brave, strong boy," she said. "I'll help you get Dean back, don't you worry," Eve soothed him. "Come with me."

Cas stood, and Eve took his hand. Then she took Gail's hand and joined it with Cas's. "This is the core of your family, right here," she told the couple. "As long as your bond remains strong, there is no adversity the two of you cannot overcome." She looked at Gail. "I'm so glad to have met you, my darling daughter. Take care of each other." She put her arm around Gail and kissed her on the cheek, then did the same with Cas. "When you go out the front door, proceed northeast about half a mile and you will come upon Abel, tending his flock." Eve smiled. "How I wish that video cameras existed now. I would love to see the expression on his face when he sees you, Castiel. But the Father wishes that I should remain here, so here, I will remain. Abel will take you to Cain, after you collect Abel's sample. He will be extremely cooperative, but I fear Cain will need a little more persuasion," she added wryly. "Goodbye, my children."

She closed the door softly behind them.

"OK, so now what do we do?" Jody asked the men. She and Frank and Sam were sitting in their kitchen, having coffee. Chuck had gone back up to Heaven. They had thanked him for his help, and Jody had given him the green light to tell everyone else in their circle their good news. Frank had gone upstairs, changing out of his suit. Sam still had his on, but he had removed his jacket and tie, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. He wondered how Cas and Gail were doing. God bless Frank and Jody. They had given him a puzzle to work out in the form of a case to work on, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

"I think we're approaching this the wrong way," Sam mused aloud. "If she's mixed up with black market adoptions, she's not gonna tell us anything. We need somebody to go in, asking for a baby." He and Frank looked at each other, and then at Jody.

"Hey, don't look at me, I've already got one in the oven," Jody said affably. She drank some coffee and took a couple of cookies from the plate she'd put in the middle of the table.

"Yeah, but you're not showing, yet," Sam pointed out.

Jody paused. Actually, that was true. "You could be on to something, there," she said. "I could go there and tell her that I'm desperate for a baby. I'll say it's too risky to have one at my age. I'll dress up fancy and flash some jewelry around, and I'll imply that money is no object. That'll open up some channels of communication, I'm sure." She smiled. "I'm pretty excited about this. It's been ages since I've gone undercover."

"OK, it's settled," Sam said.

"Hey, whoa," Frank said, putting his hand up. "Are you sure you want to do this, Jodes? You're supposed to be resting."

She gave him a withering look. "I think I can handle a few stairs and a conversation, Frank," she told him. "Maybe, when I get as big as this house, I'll laze around in bed. But until then, I'm glad to have something to do."

"Hey, how did Rob take the news when you told him?" Sam asked her.

"He was actually pretty chill about the whole thing," Jody said, smiling. "Said he thought it was cool, and he was looking forward to having a little brother or sister."

"But he didn't say anything about coming back?" Sam persisted.

"No, but we don't necessarily want him to, Sam," Jody said frankly. "The whole idea of him going in the first place was for him to get a taste of a different kind of life. I have to ferment for nearly nine months, anyway. Let him get a year of school under his belt, and we'll see where we're at next spring."

Sam nodded. Seemed like a pretty sensible approach to him.

"Will you stay for supper, Sam?" Jody asked him now. "I've got a couple of steaks defrosting. I can throw on three potatoes and some fresh veggies."

"I don't know, Jodes," Sam said uneasily. "Maybe I should get back and see if Cas and Gail are back yet."

Frank and Jody exchanged a look. "Didn't Gabriel say he was gonna be there all night?" Frank asked him. "Come on, at least let us shove some food into your face before we kick you out the door."

Sam gave them a faint smile. He knew what these two were trying to do, and he loved them for it. "OK, I'll take you up on that, then," he said. "Thanks, you guys."

Frank stood up and went to the fridge. "Beer?"

Cas and Gail approached Abel hesitantly. Surreal didn't even begin to cover it. He was sitting under a tree, watching as his flock grazed out in the field. He looked up as he saw them. Funnily enough, he didn't seem all that surprised to see them.

"Hello," Abel said, rising to his feet.

Gail gaped at him. He looked totally different from Cas on the surface, yet she could tell that this was her husband. Of course, she had caught a glimpse of him as Abel before. When Cas had first brought her here, revealing his true identity to her, Abel's was the face she'd initially seen. Then Cas had waved his hand, substituting his and Crowley's faces for Abel's and Cain's, so that she would comprehend what she was seeing.

"Hello," Cas said to Abel. If Gail thought she was freaked out, she should walk a mile in his sandals. Had he ever really looked like that? The vessel he was wearing now had been him for so long now that it was strange to see himself in his original human form.

"We come to beg a favour," Castiel said to Abel. "We have lost a family member, and you can help us to get him back."

"I'll be glad to help you," Abel said, smiling gently. "I'm a shepherd. I'm an expert at tracking down strays."

Gail smiled. Creation's First Family was proving to be a lot more amusing than she thought they would be. Maybe not as funny as her or Frank but considering the lack of pop culture references they had to work with, they weren't bad at all.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Cas said in the same mild tone as Abel was using. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you for a couple of drops of your blood."

Abel said nothing for a moment, and then he smiled. "All right," he agreed. Then he looked at Gail. "If you'll hold my hand."

She looked back at him, her lips twitching. Was he flirting with her? She looked at Cas. "This is both the weirdest, and the cutest, thing you and I have ever been through together," she told him. She moved over to Abel's side, and he took her hand. "I have always loved you, and I always will," Abel said to Gail, smiling gently down at her.

Cas pricked Abel's finger and collected the blood in one of the glass vials his father Adam had given him. Strangely, Adam hadn't seemed surprised to see his son, either. He had embraced Cas and kissed him on both cheeks, then given him the vials without any additional comment. Now Castiel was certain that Gail had been right. This whole thing seemed preordained by God. How glad Cas was that he had listened to her. He really did need to get that laminated card, he thought with wry amusement. Cas made a mental note to himself to tell her that, once they got Dean back, and everything was all right again.

"Thank you," Cas said to Abel. "Now, can you kindly tell us where Cain might be?"

"I'll take you to him," Abel offered. "But I warn you, he might be a little less cooperative than I have been."

"That's what Mother said," Cas remarked with a smile. Then he looked at Gail, and his smile faded. "Maybe you should stay here," he said to her.

Gail opened her mouth to protest, and then she closed it again, shrugging. What did she care? She had no particular desire to see Cain, especially now that she knew the truth about what had happened in the Garden. If it had been anybody else, she might have given them the benefit of the doubt or reasoned that it had happened so long ago that she could give them a bit of a break. Eve had said that he'd been a young boy, and they all knew that Lucifer had been very persuasive. But this was Crowley, and Gail could just bet he hadn't needed much persuading to do something bad. Maybe she was just biased. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

"Okay, sweetie," Gail said, and Cas did a double-take, likely in surprise at her lack of protest. She smiled at that. "I'll just sit here under this tree until you get back, then."

Cas gave her a quick kiss and a squeeze, and then he and Abel walked away. Gail sat down on the soft grass under the tree, enjoying the cool shade it provided. The sheep were still peacefully grazing in the meadow, and every once in a while, one or two of them would make a gentle bleating sound. Gail thought about Cas as Abel, tending his flock all those years ago. No wonder he'd liked the serenity of the Secret Garden so much, amongst all that sensory input in Las Vegas. And there was definitely something to be said for the peace and quiet of this place, and this kind of life. They had been through so much violence and bloodshed. Couldn't they just stay here for a little while longer, together? She closed her eyes. Wouldn't that be nice?

"It sure would," the snake said.

Gail opened her eyes, startled. She looked up, and a striped serpent was winding its way down the tree trunk. Oh, come on, she thought. They had to be kidding with this! Had she fallen asleep?

"Angels don't sleep, honey," the snake said. "I absolutely think you and Cas should stay here. The two of you would be really happy here. No more blood. No more death. Earth is a really violent place, isn't it? And I wasn't your only enemy there. Deep down, you know there's a lot more heartache to come, don't you? Wouldn't you rather just hang out here, with Cas and his parents? You'd finally be receiving that unconditional love you've been searching for, your whole life. His family would do anything for you, Gail. Look what Eve did for Cain. That little brat gobbled the fruit down, then asked for seconds. All I did was merely point it out and remind him that he shouldn't be eating it. That was all the incentive that little hellion needed. And, let's face it, your own parents hate your guts. Both sets of them. There's every reason in the world for you to want to stay here. No one'd blame you." Lucifer was putting his considerable skills of persuasion to use now. If he could somehow get her to talk Cas into staying here, he'd get a do-over.

"Leave her alone." A man's voice, coming from behind the tree. Gail sprang to her feet. She whirled around to see a bearded man in robes, walking around the tree. He was looking up at the snake warily.

"You stay out of this," the serpent sneered. "I'm talking to Gail, here."

The man withdrew a knife from the folds of his robes. "I helped her kill you a short few days ago. I'd be happy to do so again," he said to the snake.

"And Castiel is the one they call Major Buzzkill," Lucifer quipped. But he slithered back up the tree, and then he disappeared.

"Thank you," Gail said to Cain. He looked at her coolly. "I didn't do it for you, sweetheart," Cain replied. "I did it for me. He got us kicked out of Eden, and he's been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since."

"Get away from her!" Castiel exclaimed. He and Abel had doubled back to the clearing after discovering that Cain wasn't where he was supposed to be.

Cas rushed forward, standing in front of Gail. Cain smirked. "Relax, Brother. We were only talking. The real threat just went slithering up that tree."

"I'm fine, Cas," Gail assured her husband.

"Well, when I see him with a knife in his hand, I tend to get a little nervous," Cas said, frowning. He took Gail's hand.

"It looks like you've done all right for yourself," Cain said to Cas. "I don't know why you're getting your knickers in a knot."

"Really? You don't?" Cas said, and for a welcome change, Cain made no retort. "You have been the cause of so many problems for me, right from the very Beginning," Castiel continued, glaring at Cain. "I am doing my level best not to just reach out and strangle you with my bare hands right now."

"Go ahead," Cain said coolly. "If you want to change the course of history. Would there even have been any Winchesters, then? And surely, Abel would have been far too meek to ever speak to Sarah, let alone propose to her. Or, would Gail have been born at all, if our Father decided not to bother sending her to be your mate? Perhaps it's me He would have showered the blessings on, then, and you would be the one who is the pariah. Care to try out the theory?"

Cas was still angry, but of course, Crowley was right. Everything he was describing could very well come to pass, and then, where would Cas be? His temper had cost him plenty in the past. There was no way he was going to risk everything he held dear now.

Cas took a deep breath, then let it out. Gail looked at him proudly. She realized how hard it had been for him to put a lid on his temper. If she thought she was angry at Crowley, she could only imagine how it felt to be Cas. Crowley had been messing up his life since time began. Literally.

Abel had looked a little puzzled at this whole exchange, but he spoke up now, telling Cain that Cas and Gail had come looking for assistance. Cain looked at the couple, and then he looked scornfully at Abel. "And I suppose you opened up a vein for them, Brother?"

"I gave them some blood, yes," Abel replied calmly. "They were in need."

Cain smirked again. "It's a good thing you're not a woman, or you'd be the loosest harlot in town." He looked at Cas. "You'll find I'm not that easy. What will you do for me, if I give you my precious life's fluid?"

Cas's eyes narrowed. "Are you actually trying to strike up a bargain with me? Me?! Here, of all places?" he exclaimed, his voice rising.

Cain was silent for a moment, and then he gave Cas a slight tip of the head. "All right," he said. "I suppose that's fair enough." Cas moved forward, but Cain held his hand up. "No," he said. "I want Gail to do it. She'll be a lot more gentle than you, and she'll take just the amount you need, and no more."

Gail smiled inwardly. Crowley obviously hadn't seen her in action when the death squads had been roving around Europe. Bobby, Sam and Dean would be only too glad to tell him how "gentle" she had been then. Her heart sank to her stomach. Dean. There he was again. Every time she turned around, there he was.

She stretched out her hand for the splinter of wood that Cas had used to prick Abel's finger, and for the other vial. Cain offered her his hand, and she collected his blood, then gave the vial to Cas. "Thank you," Gail said to Cain, and he gave her a dip of the head in acknowledgement.

Then Cas looked from Abel to Cain, and back again. There was so much he wanted to say to them, but he was afraid that anything he might say at this point could have ramifications in the future. So, rather than take the chance, he thanked them both, took Gail's hand, and led her away from there.

The next morning in Lebanon, Kansas dawned sunny and warm.

Jody was looking in the mirror, smoothing out her dress. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn an actual dress, aside from her wedding dress. Luckily, this one still fit. Although the way she was eating, it probably wouldn't, soon.

She came downstairs and rooted around in the closet for some heels. "You look really nice, Jodes," Sam said, coming out into the hallway from the kitchen. "I don't remember the last time I saw you so dressed up."

"Thanks, Sam," she said, slipping into her shoes. She took a couple of tentative steps, and then she grimaced. "And now, I remember why. Heels are a young woman's game. Although between you and me, I think my feet are a little swollen. Unlike certain people, I'm willing to admit it if I get a little bigger."

"I have no idea who you could be talking about," Frank said huffily. He and Chuck had come out to the hallway to see if she was ready to go.

Jody picked up her purse. She gave Frank a kiss on the cheek. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" he asked his wife.  
"We talked about that," Jody said, pursing her lips. "Don't make me remind you that I was a Sheriff."

"Yeah, but you weren't pregnant, then," he countered.

"Haven't you ever seen Fargo?" Chuck wisecracked.

Frank looked at the Angel. "OK, number one, I'll do the joking around here. And number two, that's my baby she's carrying."

"It doesn't make sense, from an investigational standpoint," Jody said to her husband. "I'm supposed to be a wealthy woman, looking to buy a baby. What if she happens to look out the window, and sees you? The fake FBI agent? Then she'll know it's a setup. As it is, I'm hoping she won't smell 'cop' as soon as I walk in the door. But don't worry, I have a Plan B, just in case things get hinky." She opened her purse and showed Frank the gun she had in it.

Frank smiled slowly. "You're gonna be the best mom, ever."

Chuck rolled his eyes. And people called Cas and Gail weird. "OK, well, if you're ready to go, Jody, then I'll take you over there. You guys are gonna be at the bunker, I take it?" he said to the men. They had finally come clean with Chuck this morning about what Cas and Gail were really doing, feeling they had no choice. He didn't let on that he had already known.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Frank's going to drive me over there. We went there last night after supper when you went upstairs for your nap, but Gabriel shooed us away. He said to come back in the morning. So, Frank and Jody were good enough to put me up for the night."

"Was Bobby there?" Chuck asked them.

Sam frowned. "Nope. I haven't seen him since the memorial service."

"Should we be worried?" Jody said, her forehead wrinkling.

Sam thought for a moment. "I don't know. I know he took Dean's death really hard. I guess we just have to let him mourn." But Sam was uncomfortable now. Should they maybe have let Bobby in on the scheme from the very beginning? But that would have defeated the whole purpose of keeping it quiet, in case it didn't work. Bobby wasn't a young man any more though, and now, he had gone off the grid. These thoughts kept bouncing back and forth in Sam's head. Maybe he would ask Frank what he thought, on their drive to the bunker.

Bobby opened his eyes slowly, and he winced. One of them had left a crack in the drapes last night, and the sun was staring directly in his face.

"Ro, can you shut the damn curtain?" he growled. Nothing. He rolled over slowly, but she wasn't there. He cursed and got out of bed, stalking over to the window. He yanked the drape shut, then put a hand to his head. His skull was pounding.

Rowena came out from the bathroom, dressed in a silk robe. "What are you doing out of bed?" she asked him.

Bobby made a gesture to the window, but it seemed like too much of an effort to explain. So he climbed back into bed and lay there, groaning.

"You just lie there and rest, for a bit," Rowena said soothingly. "I'll call downstairs in a few minutes and order the Bloody Marys. Would you like some Eggs Benedict, dearie? You've got to eat something. That's why you're feeling so rough all the time."

"I'm feeling so rough because I'm at the bottom of a bottle," Bobby retorted. "And because I'm about two hundred damn years old, and because my boy is dead. I'm feeling like crap because I feel like crap, Ro."

"I know," she said softly. She got into bed beside him and kissed him on the forehead. "You're grieving, Bobby. It's totally understandable."

"I should go to the bunker and see how Sam is doing," Bobby said sadly. "It wasn't fair to him to just take off like I did."

"From what I can tell, he's got plenty of support," Rowena sniffed disdainfully. "He's got God's Holy Angels to tuck him in and give him warm milk to drink." She took Bobby's hand and put it on her breast. "Don't you like the way I've been tucking you in, instead? I know which one I'd prefer."

Bobby gave her a perfunctory squeeze, but then he took his hand back. He wasn't feeling nearly healthy enough yet to think of anything like that. "They'll be worrying about me," he insisted. "I just took off, and I wouldn't tell anybody where I was going."

"Good," Rowena said tartly. "Our relationship is none of their business, anyway. If you ask me, it's Castiel's fault that your Dean is dead."

Bobby sat up, even though the sudden action made his head feel like it was going to split wide open. "What?!" he exclaimed. "Why would you say that?"

"Think about it," she said calmly. "Castiel is the one who ran that whole operation. He got the Tablets, and he was the one who set that whole thing up. You didn't see him sacrificing himself to get rid of Lucifer, did you? Better still, why not my son? No, it had to be a Winchester. And, why? Because Castiel said so?"

"Yeah. He said that Metatron and Crowley both said that it was the only way to build the cage. And Cas checked it, too, just to make sure. That's what it said. They all agreed," Bobby insisted.

"So, let's see. Metatron is dead, and my son is the King of Hell, and a notorious liar. That brings us back to Castiel, doesn't it?" Rowena said slyly.

"That's bull," Bobby said harshly. "Dean was Cas's best friend."

Rowena laughed shortly. "And yet, he allowed Dean to die, and poor Sam to kill him," she pointed out. "That doesn't sound like a very good friend to me." She eased herself out of bed. "I'll call for those Bloody Marys now, and I'll get them to send up some breakfast, too. Oh, and I have a lovely bottle of Irish Creme in my bag that we can use in our coffee. Soon you'll be right as rain. And then, we'll see what else develops."

Bobby laid back, closing his eyes. He needed to feel better before he even could consider doing anything, one way or the other. Rowena smiled as she called room service. She would have to give him an extra dose today. Apparently, Bobby's conscience was doing battle with her potion. But, no matter. Bobby had no cell phone, and nobody knew that he was here at the hotel with her. That was, if they even cared. Soon, Bobby would be hers, again.

Cathy was looking at Jody speculatively. This woman looked the type, all right. She was nicely dressed, and she was of a certain age.

"I could give you a couple of spells that might work and sell you a few charms to place around the house," she told Jody. "They aren't guaranteed, of course, but they have been known to work."

"How long would all of that take, though?" Jody asked, frowning. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a young woman any more. And I don't mind telling you: I'm desperate, here. My husband and I have been trying for years, and nothing's worked. I can assure you, money's no object. I'm not supposed to say which one, but my husband's family owns one of the Top 10 companies listed in Fortune 500 magazine. He wants an heir, and I want a baby. If there's anything you could suggest to expedite the process, we'd be happy to make it worth your while."

Cathy sat back in her chair, considering. This was starting to sound familiar. She remembered back to a time when a blonde woman named Christina had entered this office, desperate for a baby. That was when the whole mess had started.

VIGNETTE - NOBODY'S CHILD

Christina patted her hair and smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress before entering the office. This had to work. It just had to. She had no idea what else to do at this point.

Frank was due to enter Kindergarten very soon, and then Christina would be home all day, all alone. What on earth would she do with her time, then? Frank would be going to school and making new friends, and she would be forgotten. Christina had tried and tried to catch pregnant again shortly after Frank's birth, but it hadn't happened. How lovely it would be to have a little girl. Frank was a bright and adventurous boy, but when the time came, he would be trained to follow in his father's footsteps. If Christina could have a sweet little girl, she could dress her up and teach her how to be a real lady. Jim was supportive of Christina's desire to have another baby, but he had his day job, and many nights, he Hunted. He was gone from the house quite a bit, leaving her there all alone.

Hopefully, there would be some help here, with this woman. Christina had been at the supermarket a few days ago, and she'd seen the ad on the bulletin board. Cathy Scanlon, Wiccan. Specializing in herbs and holistic medicines to promote fertility. Christina had taken one of the tabs with Cathy's phone number on it and put it in her purse. She'd kept it there for a couple of days while she'd pondered whether or not to call it. Wiccan. Christina knew that was some kind of a witch, but she believed it was the benign kind. So she'd asked Jim about it, saying she'd heard the term on a TV show, and he had laughed. He'd told her a Wiccan was a "white witch"; a harmless individual, usually a woman, who utilized herbs and crystals and good intentions to help people achieve their goals. Jim was of the opinion that it was all a bunch of nonsense, but if it made people happy, he didn't have a problem with it.

So she had screwed up the nerve and called for an appointment, and now, here she was. Christina sat down across the desk from Cathy and explained her situation, and Cathy smiled.

"I get that a lot," she told Christina. "That's why I put my ad up in the supermarket. I've helped out lots of ladies in your same situation."

"What do you do, exactly?" Christina asked her.

"I'll give you a couple of herbs to take. And I have a recipe for a smoothie you can try."

Christina's forehead wrinkled. "That's it? I was hoping for more."

Cathy looked at her cautiously. "Well, there's also a spell I can give you to say. But not everyone believes in those things."

"I don't care what I have to do," Christina said earnestly. "Anything. I'll do whatever you say."

So Cathy had given her the herbs and the spell, and she'd sent Christina on her way. But then, her ex-brother-in-law had called her a short time later.

"I've got another one I need to unload," he'd told her abruptly. "Have you got any viable clients lined up?"

"It's funny you should say that," Cathy had remarked. She told him about Christina, and he'd nodded approvingly. "Sounds perfect," he'd said. "This one's a girl."

"I don't think she's got a lot of money, though," Cathy had said.

"I don't care," he'd replied. "I want to get rid of this one as soon as possible."

Cathy couldn't help but wonder for the umpteenth time what had been left out of this man. What could he possibly have against a tiny infant? Had the baby spit up on him, or something? Pooped at an inconvenient time, maybe? She'd felt a giggle bubbling up in her throat, but she'd better not laugh. No, he wouldn't like that at all.

"Give this woman a call and tell her to come to your office at 7 a.m. tomorrow," he'd directed her. "I'll give her the baby then. Tell her to bring a cheque made out to cash for...say, five thousand dollars. If she squeaks, you can knock it down to two or three, or even a thousand. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Then he'd hung up. When Vincent was finished talking, there was nothing more to be said. Cathy shook her head slowly. He must really want to get rid of this one. He was practically giving the baby away. So she had picked up the phone and called Christina, and given her Vincent's instructions.

"Seven a.m.?" Christina had repeated, startled.

"Yes," Cathy replied. "Is there a problem? I can call another client, if you can't make it."

"No!" Christina had cried out, panicked. "No, I'll be there."

And she had made it work. Jim usually left the house about 7:30 in the morning, while she would stay home with Frank, who was due to start Kindergarten in a couple of weeks. Christina could leave Frank with the neighbours for a while, but she would need to leave much earlier in order to be at Cathy's on time. So when Jim came home that evening, she'd told him that there were doorcrasher sales downtown on school supplies, and she had to leave the house early in the morning to get the best deals. Jim had smiled at his wife. Anything for Master Frank, he'd agreed with some humour.

Jim had dressed early the next morning and kissed Christina goodbye as she left the house. Then he had fed Frank his breakfast, taken him to the neighbours', and then left early for work. Jim was a travelling salesman who had a local territory, but he did go into the office from time to time, to get new leads and hand in his reports. It was from this job that his income was derived, the one that paid the mortgage and fed and clothed the family. But his true vocation, and his passion, was Hunting. That was why Jim had gotten a job where he could be on the road on a regular basis. His wife understood that, and she gave him the freedom to be who he was. She asked for so little in return, so he was happy to help her out. And Jim had wanted to start their son off on the right foot when he went to school.

So Christina was able to make her early appointment, and she had brought a cheque for two thousand dollars, which was all the extra money she had managed to save in the years since Frank was born. Luckily, she already had school supplies for Frank, and what she didn't have, she was sure she could borrow. But this sounded like her opportunity, and she didn't intend to miss it.

"Have a seat," Cathy had told her, and she had gone to the back to let Vincent know that the client was here.

He was standing in the storeroom, holding the infant as if she were a nuclear bomb. The laugh bubbled up in Cathy again. Apparently, Vincent wasn't a "kid person". But Cathy thought the baby was adorable. She was a wee little thing, with wide, bright eyes and a shock of dark hair on her head. When Cathy looked at the baby, the baby looked back at her, as if she understood everything that Cathy was saying. Then the baby would look at Vincent when he spoke, as if she were following the entire conversation. Cathy thought it was so cute. This was obviously a very intelligent child, already. Christina was getting an absolute bargain, as far as Cathy was concerned.

She reached out to take the baby, but to her surprise, Vincent said, "Make yourself scarce for a bit. Go down to the corner and get a coffee, or something. I want to talk to this woman before I hand it to her."

Wow. He was cold, all right. The baby was squirming a little in Vincent's arms now, as if sensing his distaste for her. Cathy chucked the infant under the chin with her finger, and then she stroked her soft cheek. The baby laughed, making Cathy smile. "What's her name?" Cathy couldn't help but ask.

"Her mother named her Gail," Vincent said impatiently.

Cathy wanted to ask so many other questions. Who was the baby's mother, and why was she giving Gail up? And how was Vincent involved? Where did all those babies he'd brought in here for Cathy to sell come from?

Vincent was a tall, imposing man with dark hair and dark eyes, and he was using the latter to glare at her now. "I can see all those questions rattling around in there. You can have one more, and then I expect you to leave," he said.

"Who is the baby's father, and where did she come from?" Cathy blurted out.

"Technically, that's two questions," Vincent said with a raised eyebrow. Cathy examined his face. Was he joking? She honestly couldn't tell. "I am her father," Vincent stated. "And if her mother wasn't what she is, she could possibly have kept the baby."

"'What she is'? What do you mean?" Cathy asked curiously.

"I said: one question. And if you don't leave in the next fifteen seconds, you're going to wish you had," Vincent said ominously, his expression growing dark.

Cathy turned on her heel and left the room immediately. She'd seen Vincent angry before, and she didn't ever want to see that again. She didn't even stop to pick up her purse from the desk drawer. She hurried past a very confused Christina and left the office.

Vincent came out to the front. "You must be Christina," he said to Frank's mother. She looked up at him from her seated position. He was a good-looking man with dark features and a pleasant enough expression, but there was just something about him that was immediately intimidating.

But the instant Christina laid her eyes on the baby, she forgot all about the man. Gail was squirming in Vincent's arms again, and her chubby little arms were reaching out towards Christina, almost as if she were asking to be held by her. Gail's birth mother had blonde hair, too; was it possible that she was reacting to that fact? Or did she sense the evil aura that was emanating from her father?

"Cathy tells me that you want a baby girl," Vincent said, approaching Christina. She stood from her chair so he wouldn't tower over her quite so much. But even when she stood, he seemed so much taller than her.

"I can let you have this one, but I just wanted to tell you that this is a very special baby," Vincent continued calmly.

"Well, of course she is," Christina cooed, smiling. "You can tell that just by looking at her. She's beautiful."

Vincent smirked inwardly. Yeah, right. Whatever. Babies were just blobs to him, the unfortunate byproduct of an activity he enjoyed doing very much. It was kind of like eating a delicious seven-course meal but having to suffer through the inevitable trip to the bathroom afterwards. Why nearly every woman alive wanted one was beyond Vincent. Fortunately, he'd formed this alliance with his ex-sister-in-law, and it had solved that problem. He could get rid of anything he might sire and make a little money in the bargain. And if the brood mare he screwed happened to raise an objection, it would be her last. Fortunately, Gail's mother had been far too cowed to say anything. Abigail had been an interesting experiment for Vincent. It was the first time he'd ever lain with a woman who had powers of her own, and the resultant baby had practically come out of the womb doing impossible things. The kid was much too smart for a newborn, and Vincent had no idea what it might be capable of when it got a bit older. He might have just been inclined to leave this one with the mother, then, had it not been for the fact that the mother was batshit crazy.

He shoved the baby into Christina's arms. She was a little surprised by his haste, but she cuddled the infant, talking softly to her. Baby Gail looked up at Christina with those wide eyes, and then she smiled, and Christina was in love.

But she looked up at Vincent warily. There was something about this man that made Christina uneasy. "Where did she come from?" she asked him. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Gail," Vincent replied. He smirked inwardly. Abigail had asked him if she could name the baby, and he had allowed it. But then, she couldn't make her mind up as to what to call it. So he told her that she had fifteen seconds to give him an answer, and she'd blurted out "Gail", because it was a short form of her own name. Some people had no imagination, he thought scornfully. "I'm an adoption broker," Vincent lied. "I'm here to make sure these unwanted children get good homes." Right. Like he cared.

"Oh, I can assure you, we'll give her an excellent home," Christina said eagerly.

Vincent reached out, pretending as if he wanted to touch the baby's head. But he grazed Christina's arm on purpose, just to read her. He didn't shock easily, but his eyes widened a little. She was the wife of a Hunter? He almost grabbed the child back from her, but then he thought about it. Did it really matter? Still, he didn't need anyone nosing around here asking questions, so he said, "Look into my eyes."

Christina looked, and Vincent said, "You will tell your husband that you found the baby on the doorstep of your house. If he asks you any further questions, you will become hysterical, and accuse him of not wanting you to be happy. Is that understood?" Vincent grinned. He had yet to meet the man who could withstand that kind of question coming from his wife. That ought to put the kibosh on any investigation that Jim might have in mind. And if he persisted, there was always young Frank. By that brief touch alone, Vincent knew all about Christina's family, and what buttons he could push to get them to bend to his will, if need be.

"Yes, it's understood," Christina said, dazed.

Then Vincent broke eye contact, and Christina stepped back from him. "I have the cheque in my purse," she told him.

"Keep it," Vincent said, smiling. "I enjoy nothing more than placing babies with deserving families." And this family was deserving, all right; deserving of all the trouble that Baby Gail was going to bring. But Vincent didn't want any red flags to be raised, so Christina could keep her money, and then Jim wouldn't notice the big hole in their savings account. "OK, you can leave, now," he said to her.

Christina looked at him quizzically. "But..."

"Yes? What?" Vincent said impatiently.

"I don't have anything to put her in," Christina said to him. "Don't you have a stroller, or something?"

Vincent looked at her. He hadn't thought of anything like that. Neither had Gail's mother, obviously. When he'd gone over there to take the child, Abigail had had the baby lying in a bureau drawer, amongst a bunch of thick sweaters. No crib, nothing. It looked comfortable enough, but it wouldn't have surprised him one bit if he found out that Abigail had closed the drawer absently and forgotten about the baby altogether. The kid should be thanking him.

"You're going to be her mother now," he snapped at Christina. "That kind of thing is up to you to figure out."

"But how am I supposed to get her home?" Christina persisted. "It's not safe to ride the bus with her like this."

Vincent rolled his eyes. Save him from these women. It was bad enough that they popped these things out in the most disgusting way imaginable, but after that, the maintenance never stopped. "Fine. Wait here."

He went into the back and looked around. There must be something here he could - He snapped his fingers. Cathy had a basket in the washroom that she used for towels, and those fancy-smelling soaps that women liked so much. He rushed in there and dumped out the soaps, but left a towel lining the bottom.

Vincent brought the basket back out and slammed it on the desk. "Put it in there, then get out. Don't make me regret this."

So Christina laid Gail gently in the basket and pulled a couple of corners of the towel over the infant to swaddle her, as best she could. She wished she had something to strap the baby in. But this man was looking almost murderous now, so Christina grabbed her purse, put it awkwardly over her shoulder, and grabbed the basket with both hands. She made it as far as the door, and then she realized she had no way of opening it.

Vincent smirked, letting her ponder that for a moment. Then he waggled a couple of fingers, and the door opened. Christina scurried out.

Vincent went over to Cathy's desk and sat down behind it. He waved his hand, and everything flew off the surface of the desk. Then he put his feet up on the desk and leaned back. There. One less hassle. Let the Hunter and his wife deal with her now. Abigail had been forbidden to try to contact whatever family Gail ended up with. He'd had to give her that warning because, among other things, Abigail was a genuine psychic. Like him, she could touch someone and find out all their secrets. Not him, though, of course. Vincent was a very special, powerful individual. When he had bedded Abigail, he could feel her trying to probe him, but he had shut that down, pronto. Nobody was going to find out Vincent's secrets, not if he didn't want to divulge them. Anyway, even if Abigail were to find out where their daughter was, she wouldn't dare try to see her. She knew what he could do to her if she defied him. And Abigail was a simp, a passive ball of nothing. If Vincent had ever possessed any desire at all to take a wife, it certainly wouldn't have been her. She came across as sweet and soft-spoken, but Abigail was one crazy woman, that was for sure.

Vincent would keep an eye on the situation, though. There may come a day when that family would need reminding who the boss really was in this arrangement. Baby Gail had already shown signs of maturing way past her chronological age, and it wouldn't be long before she would start to exhibit some special abilities. He would have to make sure her adoptive family didn't turn the spotlight on him when that happened.

Christina raced over to the neighbours' place and picked Frank up. When she let them back into the house, she looked down at her son and said, "There's someone I'd like you to meet." She brought Frank into the living room and showed him the baby.

"This is your sister, Gail," she told little Frank. He moved forward and looked down into the basket, his jaw dropping in amazement. Frank was young himself, of Kindergarten age, and he had no idea where babies came from. His dad had told him his mother had gone out shopping this morning. This must be what she had gone shopping for.

The baby was staring calmly at Frank, and he was a little freaked out by it. He stretched his hand out slowly to touch the infant. Gail's tiny hand grabbed his finger, and Frank smiled. Then Gail smiled. Frank tickled her chin with his other hand, and she laughed.

"Hi, Gail," he said. "I'm Frank. I'm your big brother."

She made a gurgling sound as if she were trying to talk, and Frank smiled again.

Christina was over the moon. Now, her family was complete. Jim could train Frank how to Hunt and carry on the family legacy, and Christina would have her girl. They could cook and sew and bake together. It was going to be so great.

Later, when Jim got home, Christina told him the story of how she had come home from shopping to find Gail on the doorstep, in this basket. There had been no note, and she hadn't seen anyone.

Jim frowned. This was too weird. It was like something you'd see in the movies. Plus, it was just a little too convenient. She'd been wanting a baby girl, and here was a baby girl. Jim sent Frank upstairs to play, and then he eyed his wife suspiciously.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Jim asked her.

Christina's heart started beating faster. "Yes, of course. Of course I am, Jim."

"You haven't been messing around with anything you shouldn't?" Jim persisted. "Witchcraft?" His expression darkened. "Demons?"

"No, Jim, it was nothing like that, I promise you!" she told him, putting her hand on his arm. "I know better than that."

But Jim still didn't like it. "I just think it's awfully convenient, Chris," he said. "I'm going to do an investigation. We've got some other neighbours that are home during the day. I'll canvass the street and see if anybody saw anything."

"No, don't, Jim! Please!" Christina clutched at her husband. She started to cry. She didn't even have to manufacture the tears, as Vincent had instructed. She was just so afraid that Jim would find out the truth and take the baby away. "I never ask you for anything, Jim, but I'm asking you for this. There's a sweet little baby girl in that basket who doesn't have a home, and I want her to have one here. Take a look at her and tell me that she isn't the cutest little thing you've ever seen. And she's such a happy baby. She hasn't cried once since she's been here."

Jim looked at the baby. He had to admit that she was as cute as anything. She looked up at him with her wide, dark eyes, and then she yawned widely, stretching her chubby little arms. Then she closed her eyes, and promptly fell asleep. Jim's heart melted. He guessed it didn't really matter where the baby had come from. As long as Christina swore to him that she hadn't been dabbling in anything supernatural, Jim supposed he could let it go. He could see how much it meant to his wife.

"All right, she can stay," Jim said. Christina threw her arms around his neck, and he gave her a squeeze, and a kiss on the cheek. Jim smiled. "I'll take the day off work tomorrow, and take you shopping for a proper crib, and some other supplies," he told his wife. Christina had never been happier in her life.

Cathy didn't know what had transpired between Vincent and Christina, of course. She'd come back from her walk to find Vincent sitting at her desk, looking at some of her files.

"There really is one born every minute, isn't there?" he'd said to her.

Cathy had bristled. She believed in holistic medicine, and the healing power of crystals. She provided a service for people, and she had helped many of them.

"I presume your business here is concluded?" she had asked him, tight-lipped.

Vincent threw the file he'd been reading down on the desk, smirking. He swung his legs off the desk and stood, coming around it to where she was. "You don't like me very much, do you?" he asked her.

She looked at him. What she wouldn't give to be able to tell him exactly what she thought about him. But she didn't dare. Vincent was a dangerous man at the best of times, but he was especially dangerous when he was smiling. She stood stock-still, not saying a word, and after a moment, he'd laughed, and then left her office.

Now, Cathy sat behind that same desk, looking at Jody. Considering her. "I'll tell you what," the Wiccan woman said to her. "Let's see if you're fertile, first. I have a test I can perform, and we'll see. Depending on what it shows, we can decide on a course of action. Okay?"

Jody's forehead wrinkled. "What kind of test?"

"Relax, it won't hurt," Cathy said briskly. "You won't even have to disrobe." She opened up her desk drawer and took out a triangular crystal on a chain. Then she stood and walked around the desk. "I'll wave this over you, and it'll tell me what I need to know."

Jody suppressed a grin. She had to be kidding with this. But she'd play along, for now. She was still trying to get a measure of Ms. Scanlon. The woman seemed a little skittish to Jody, like she had something to hide.

Cathy suspended the crystal over Jody's head, and a moment later, it started to wobble back and forth. Then it swung wildly from the right to the left, and back again.

"What are you trying to pull?" Cathy said in a harsh voice.

Jody looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

Cathy palmed the crystal and stepped back from Jody, folding her arms. "Did the police send you?"

Jody's heart sank, but she tried to brazen it out. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you're already pregnant," Cathy snapped.

"Well, that was quick," Jody quipped. "How much do I owe you?"

But Cathy wasn't amused. "Please get out of my office."

Jody rose and left the office immediately. There was no sense in sticking around, really. Damn crystals. Who knew that they actually worked? Or maybe Cathy was just very perceptive. But in any event, Jody's cover was blown now, and they were no further ahead. Crap.

She walked across the street. "Let's go home," she said to Chuck.


	6. Back Door Angel

Chapter 6 - Back Door Angel

Frank and Sam were standing in Cas and Gail's room, nervously watching the hourglass. The last grains of sand were now falling upwards from the bottom.

Gabriel was lounging in a chair with his feet suspended in midair, as if they were resting on an invisible ottoman. He had gotten bored overnight, and so he'd gone to the library shelves for a little light reading. Right now, he was reading a book about possession. "It's funny that there are different rules," Gabriel remarked. "Certain entities can only enter certain other ones under certain circumstances...It's all very confusing. Luckily, I don't have to worry about stuff like that. We Archangels can pretty much do whatever we want." He manufactured a leer. "But entering somebody like that isn't nearly as sexy as it sounds."

Suddenly, Chuck popped Jody into the room. Frank jumped, and Gabriel's feet fell to the floor. "Wow. So THAT'S how it feels to be on the receiving end of one of those," he quipped.

Sam wasn't really fazed. He knew that Chuck already knew what they were doing now, and that everybody else knew that Chuck knew. Now that they might be on the verge of getting the last ingredient for the revival spell, Sam had started to wonder how they were going to explain Dean's sudden re-emergence, when everyone had been to his funeral, and seen his body burn.

But, one thing at a time. Gabriel put the book down and stood from his chair. "It is time to bring the Angels back from the Great Beyond," he announced in a deep voice. Then he grinned. "I've always wanted to say something like that." He flexed his arms, then put his hands on Cas and Gail's foreheads. A minute or so later, without any bright lights or fanfare, the Angels stirred.

"Piece of cake," Gabriel said, smiling. "Stand back and give them a little space."

Cas was the first one to attempt to sit up, and he put his arm around Gail to help her. She was blinking her eyes, as if awakening from a deep sleep.

"Where's the blood?" Sam asked Gabriel sharply. Gabriel put his hand up to silence the younger Winchester, but Cas had already heard. He looked angrily at Gabriel. "Where is it? I had it!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Check your pants pocket, oh ye of no faith."

Cas patted his pockets, then relaxed. He took out the vials of blood.

"That's Cain and Abel's blood?" Frank asked, and Cas nodded. "Yes, Frank." His brother-in-law stared at him, and at the vials. Every time he thought they'd reached max on the Freak-O-Meter, it seemed they had another level to go. "It's a good thing you were Abel to get that. Did your brother raise Cain when you asked him for his blood?"

"OK, Frank, OK," Gail said, putting a hand to her head. "Can you give us a second to adjust, before you bombard us with the world's most obvious jokes?"

Cas gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Take all the time you need, my darling," he said to her. "A leap in time like that is always a very hard thing to come back from."

After a moment more, the Angels started to regain their equilibrium. They eased off the bed and stood up. "Thank you, Gabriel," Cas said to him.

"De nada," the Archangel said. "I'll see you around, Brother." He snapped his fingers and disappeared without another word.

"Not too big on long goodbyes, are you guys?" Frank quipped.

"He's a unique individual, that's for sure," Gail remarked.

"So, how was it? How are the in-laws? See any snakes?" Frank asked her.

"You think you're funny, but you're not," Gail said wearily.

"Sure I am," Frank persisted. He turned to Cas. "Hey, did you leave a message on your Voice Mail, saying you weren't Abel to come to the phone?"

Cas smiled gently. "Actually, Frank, since I WAS Abel, I don't think that would be the truth," he responded.

"He's got you there," Chuck said, elbowing Frank.

"OK, let's go out to the library, get the spell book, and see where we go from here," Gail said. She eyed Chuck. "Since everybody apparently knows everything now, I have to make sure we've got everything we need before we try the spell." She looked at Jody. "How are you feeling? Are you up to this?"

"Please don't baby me. You know how much you hate being on the receiving end of that," Jody said irritably. There was silence for a moment, and then Jody sighed. "I'm sorry, Gail. Must be hormones, or something."

"How did it go, by the way?" Frank asked his wife. "What happened?"

"OK, we all want to hear from everybody about everything," Sam said, "but maybe, let's just deal with one thing at a time. And I'm sorry, but right now, I want to focus on this spell. I need my brother back, you guys."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Cas said, "Sam is right. Let's do this."

They all walked out to the library, and Sam went to the shelves to get the book. He brought it out to Gail, who opened it on the table's surface and began to study it.

"Frank, Chuck, can you help me get the ingredients together?" Sam asked his friends. He looked at Jody with a raised eyebrow. "At the risk of having you pull your gun out of your purse and plug me one, will you do me a favour and at least sit down?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Jody breathed with relief. She took a seat at the library table, kicking off her shoes.

Once everything had been brought out to her, Gail checked the ingredients twice against the list. Then she read the instructions very carefully. "OK, I'm ready to try the spell," she told everyone. "But I'm too nervous to have an audience. Chuck, can you take Frank and Jody to their place to wait? I promise, you guys'll be the first to know what happens. But this is huge, and I don't want to screw it up."

No one argued. Chuck popped Frank and Jody out of there, and Cas kissed her gently on the forehead for encouragement. "I'll take Sam over to get him, and we'll be right back," he told her softly, and the two men disappeared.

Gail paced the floor. The bunker was eerily quiet. Oh, God. My God. Please let this work, she prayed. This had to work. She looked at the book again. It all seemed to easy. She hoped this was the right thing to do. But how could it not be? This was Dean.

The men returned carrying Dean's body in the shroud, and they laid him gently on the library table. Gail had moved the spell book and all the ingredients down to the end to make room.

"Now what?" Sam asked.

Gail's heart fell to her stomach as she looked at the shrouded body. "We have to unwrap him," she said softly.

Cas started at the feet, Sam at the head. Gail winced inwardly, but she made herself look. Now was not the time to be timid. They only had one shot at this.

The men unwrapped the shroud from Dean's body. He was bare-chested, dressed only in a pair of shorts. He could be sleeping. He was only sleeping, Gail told herself. She moved down to the other end of the table and mixed all the ingredients in a large bowl. All except for the blood, which had to go in last.

Once she was ready, she took the candles and placed them on the library table around Dean's body. "Can you light those for me, Sam?" she asked Dean's brother.

He did so, with a bit of a shaky hand. This had to be the weirdest-ass, creepiest, Pet Cemetary-ish thing he had ever been involved in, and with his and Dean's history, that was really saying something.

Cas was standing stoically at Dean's side. He was in Castiel mode now, putting his emotions aside while the process was going on. But it was difficult, especially when Gail came to him with the bowl and asked him to empty the vials of Cain and Abel's blood into it. He did, and the liquid in the bowl began to steam, and then bubble furiously.

Gail put the bowl down on the table by Dean's side and consulted the spell book again. After a moment, she dipped her fingers into the bowl and began to paint the symbol on Dean's chest with her hand, as drawn in the book. Then she recited the incantation.

The lights in the bunker suddenly went out, and there was only the light produced by the candles around Dean's body for illumination. Then they started to flicker, and then they went out. The room was plunged into total darkness.

What the hell? Gail thought. What were they supposed to do now? Was this part of the ritual? Then suddenly, she felt a cold hand clamp around her wrist. Dean's hand.

This was too creepy. She had to see. So she slowly took her blade out of her pants pocket with her free hand, and spoke the Enochian phrase to invoke the golden light.

Dean's eyes were open, and as she brought the blade closer to his face to check his expression, he moaned. "Geez, will you get that light outta my face? Give me a minute to wake up, at least."

"Sorry, Dean," Gail said softly, but she was starting to smile. That sounded like the Dean she knew.

Sam moved forward eagerly. "Dean?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Sammy," Dean responded.

"Dean," Cas said in a thick voice, and Dean smiled. "Oh, good. Cas is here, too," he said. "I'll get up in a minute, guys. Let me just hit the snooze button for another minute or two."

"Take all the time you need," Sam said, and now his voice was thick, too. He looked in Gail's direction, although it was still too dark in the room to see her. "I don't know what to say," he told her.

"Neither do I," she said, dazed.

A moment later, the lights in the bunker all came back on. Dean squinted. "All right, all right, I'll get up, now," he said grumpily. "Sam, did you put the coffee on?"

Sam started to laugh and cry at the same time. Dean was struggling to sit up now, and Cas rushed forward to help him. Dean put his hand to his own head as Cas put his arm around his friend's shoulders, propping him up.

"This is one hell of a hangover," Dean said, and then he looked down at himself and froze. Then he looked at the others, puzzled. "I think I've had this dream before, but there were a lot more women in the room," he quipped. Then he looked at Gail. "And, no offense, but none of them were you."

She burst out laughing, and the happy tears began to flow. Now they were all crying, and Dean was looking at them warily. "What in the holy hell is going on here, you guys?" he asked them.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sam asked him.

Dean thought for a moment. He looked at his brother, then at the blade in Gail's hand. She saw him looking and snapped it shut, but the sight had been enough for Dean to remember. "Is Lucifer gone?" he asked them.

"Yes, he's gone, Dean," Cas replied softly.

"Good deal," Dean said, nodding slowly. He swung his legs slowly off the table and looked around the room. "I'm not even gonna ask you guys why I'm lying here nearly naked with stinky red goo on my chest," he told them. "I'm just gonna go take a shower and put on some clothes, and then the four of us are gonna have a drink and talk." He hopped off the table, tottering a bit, and Cas steadied him.

"Thanks, buddy," Dean said. He looked at Gail. "I get the feeling I'm gonna have to thank you, too. Maybe you, most of all."

Gail kissed him on the cheek. "Just being able to see you and talk to you is all the thanks I need," she told him. She was crying again.

"Every time I see you and your hubby lately, one of you is leaking on me," Dean groused good-naturedly. But he nuzzled her cheek with his for a moment. "Boy, am I ever glad we didn't run you over that night," Dean said softly, "for a number of reasons." He gave her a smile. "Now, I'd better go get some clothes on, before your husband gets jealous."

Then Dean looked at Sam. His brother was standing there, looking at him with the puppy-dog eyes. "OK, Sammy, bring it in," Dean said. He moved forward, opening up his arms. Sam drew Dean to him with one arm and the brothers hugged fiercely, while Cas and Gail smiled at each other.

The hug lasted a minute or three, and then Dean gently disengaged himself from Sam's arms. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he told his younger brother. Then Dean walked slowly down the hall.

Sam moved forward and grabbed Gail, giving her a big bear hug. "I don't know how to thank you," he said to her. "I'll never be able to find the words."

Gail gave him a squeeze. "I know, Sam. It's OK. I know."

Then Cas launched himself at the two of them, and they enjoyed a group hug for a minute. They all sniffled back a few more tears, and then Gail said, "Let's break out the booze. I don't care if it is the morning; I can't think of a bigger occasion."

"I'll put on some coffee," Sam said happily. "We can spike it. Then we'll make breakfast. I'm sure Dean will be hungry. I'll make extra bacon. I'll make extra everything, and deep-fry it, if he wants."

Cas took out his cell phone. "I'll call over to Frank's place and tell them the good news."

"Invite them for breakfast," Sam said, smiling. He was giddy with excitement at having Dean back.

"OK, let's go to the kitchen, then," Gail said. "We can start cooking, while Dean's in the shower."

"Not you," Sam said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You don't work today. As far as I'm concerned, you don't ever have to do anything, ever again. Cas and I will do it, right, Cas?"

Cas smiled. "That's right, Sam. We'll do it." He took his wife in his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. "You brought our brother back to us, my darling. We owe you everything."

"Oh, boy. Carte blanche," she joked. "I'll have to think about that for a while."

The three of them smiled at each other and walked down the hall to the kitchen, to await Dean's arrival.

Sam had never had a happier group in the kitchen for breakfast, nor had he ever been happier to cook it.

As he had promised, Cas had rolled up his sleeves to the elbow, and he was bringing the food to the table now, and refilling everyone's coffee.

"We should get you a frilly apron, or something," Dean joked.

"Or, an order pad," Frank chipped in. "Than you can say 'what'll you have'?" He looked around the table at the others. "Just don't order Adam and Eve On A Raft, or he'll punch you."

Gail was smiling. She had seen Cas in many states of dress and undress, yet there was just something about those rolled-up sleeves. He saw her looking, and he smiled. No one rolled up their sleeves to pour coffee; he'd done that on purpose. They made eye contact. They'd both been grieving, but that was all over now. Dean was back, and it was time to rejoice.

"Do you need anything else, Dean? Coffee? More bacon?" Cas asked him.

"I can throw on some pancakes, if you want," Sam said. He was hovering around the stove.

"No, there's plenty. Sit down, you guys," Dean said, gesturing. "Here, Sammy. Sit beside me, here. And, Cas? Come over here, to the other side. Take your wife's seat. She'll just be sitting on your lap, anyway."

Gail smiled at Dean. "Won't we make you want to throw up, if we start canoodling while you're eating your breakfast?"

"Hey, canoodle away," Dean said, as Gail got up to let Cas sit down. "Life's too short." Cas pulled Gail down onto his lap and kissed her softly on the cheek as Sam raised his coffee cup. "To Dean," he said, looking at his brother. Everyone toasted.

As his fellow humans began to eat, Dean asked, "Where's everybody else?"

They all exchanged looks. "There've been a few...developments since you've been gone," Cas said hesitantly.

Dean's forehead wrinkled. "How long was I gone for?"

"About a week," Sam replied.

"Oh," Dean thought about that for a moment. "Crap," he continued. "Still, it could have been a lot worse." He nudged Gail. "How'd you get the bone? Or do I even want to know?"

She looked at him blankly for a beat. "I took a look at the thing, when you first came up with the idea," Dean said to her. "I wanted to know what kind of weird, voodoo crap was in that spell. So, where'd you get the bone, and what did you do with it?" Dean smirked. "I don't know if it was just because I was happy to be alive, but I did notice a little extra in the shower this morning."

"Up top," Frank said, and the two men high-fived. But Gail wrinkled up her nose. "OK, first of all: ewwwww. Secondly, there WAS no bone. Cas and I had to go back to Creation, all right, but it was blood that we had to get. The original Cain and Abel's blood."

Dean gaped at Cas. "You guys went back that far in time? Wasn't that risky?"

Cas shrugged. "We didn't think about that. It was for you, Dean."

Everyone was silent for a minute, and then Cas urged them to continue eating while he and Gail told the story. When they got to the part about Cain having been the one who had been the first to taste the forbidden fruit, Sam laughed shortly. "Why does that not even surprise me?"

"I know, right?" Gail said, nodding. Then she told them all about her encounter with the snake who spoke in Lucifer's voice, and they were all silent again for a moment.

"But Lucifer's gone now, though, right?" Dean asked them.

"Yes, Dean, he's gone," Cas confirmed. He paused for a moment, and then he said, ""What happened to you after you died?"

Dean gave him a grim smile. Only in their world would that seem like a fairly routine question. The only problem was, he had no answer for it. "Nothing, Cas."

"Nothing?" Cas asked him, and his voice was sharper now. "What do you mean, nothing?"

"That's what I mean, Cas," Dean insisted. "Nothing. Nada. The last thing I remember is feeling the knife in my chest. Then everything went dark, and then, I woke up here. That's it."

Cas's brow was furrowed now. As far as he knew, this was unprecedented. Now, he blessed Gail even more. Apparently, Dean did not go to the Garden, after all. But still, Death should have come for him. Or, if Death hadn't deigned to come personally, he would have sent one of his Reapers. But Cas was very surprised that Death wouldn't have taken the time to attend at the disposition of Dean's soul. He'd been acquainted with the Winchesters for years now. At one point, Sam had been slated to go to the Netherworld, although none of them knew if that was still the case. But if Dean was slated to go there, too, then Death should have come for him. The fact that no one had come for Dean concerned Castiel a great deal.

"Anyway, back to my original question: where's everybody else?" Dean asked.

They all exchanged glances again. When the others had arrived when Dean was still in the shower, Gail had lectured them not to bombard Dean with a lot of information all at once, and Cas had concurred. He knew personally how disconcerting it could be to come back from an experience like that, without having a bunch of people peppering you with questions. But now, it was Dean who was asking the questions.

"Barry and Tommy went back up to Vancouver, to start making wedding plans," Jody said, buttering another piece of toast.

Dean nodded. That made total sense to him. Their presence around the bunker would be missed, but they had their own lives to live. "OK. Where's Rob?" he asked. More glances were exchanged. Dean threw his fork down on his plate. "Hey, I'm not dead any more, and I'm not blind, either," he said, frustrated. "Talk to me, guys. What's going on? Where's Rob? And where's Bobby? I thought for sure HE would be here."

Frank sighed. He was bursting to share their good news with his friend, but he guessed they should deal with this, first. So he told Dean what he and Jody had decided to do regarding Rob. Dean's heart hurt for his friends, but he applauded their selflessness. Might be that would be just the thing that Rob needed.

"And as for Bobby, no one really knows where he's at right now," Sam told his brother. Dean looked at him, and Sam continued, "He took everything really hard. He told Cas and Gail he was taking off, and we haven't seen him since."

Dean thought about that. "Well, he's a grown man. But we've gotta find him, and tell him I'm back."

"Are you gonna eat all that bacon, or can I have some?" Jody said to Dean. She reached out and speared a couple of pieces of bacon from his plate with her fork. Then she elbowed Frank. "Quit hogging the eggs."

"Hey!" Dean exclaimed. He gaped at Jody. She was shoveling food into her mouth. She looked up at him. "Wha-?" she said, her mouth full.

"Did I wake up in Bizarro World?" Dean asked them. "Since when did Jody become me?"

"Leave her alone. She's eating for two, now," Frank said slyly. He kept his eyes on Dean's face, waiting for his reaction.

But Dean didn't get the hint. "She's eating for more than two people," he said to Frank. "What's the matter? Are you on a diet, or something?"

Frank looked at Gail, smirking. "I guess there weren't any extra brains included in that spell." He grinned at Dean. "Jody's eating for two, Einstein. She's pregnant."

Dean's mouth fell open. "Get outta here," he said. Then he sprang to his feet and ran around the table. He leaned down and hugged Jody tightly as she smiled.

"Hey, quit mauling my wife," Frank said good-naturedly. "That's my job."

"That's how I got pregnant in the first place," Jody quipped.

Dean clapped a hand on Frank's shoulder. "That's awesome," he said.

"You shouldn't have said anything," Chuck piped up. They all looked at him, and he smiled slowly. "You should have let Jody get bigger and bigger, and waited to see how long it would take before Dean realized what was happening."

There was silence for a moment, and then, Jody laughed. "That's actually pretty funny, Chuck," she said.

Dean was staring at Chuck now. He wasn't so sure about that, but he guessed if Jody thought it was funny, he could let it go. He re-took his seat, looking at Cas and Gail. "What else did I miss? One of you God, now?"

Cas smiled. "Things don't work that quickly, Dean. It's a process. We've filed the paperwork."

Sam shook his head slowly, smiling. "It's so strange to think of Heaven having an electoral process. Is it the same as ours?"

"No, thank goodness," Gail told him. "I imagine there might be a little campaigning, and we've made provision for a debate, if the parties involved want one. But, it's just a straight vote. None of this Electoral College nonsense, or 'popular vote'. Just one-and-done."

"Are you guys and Patricia the only three candidates?" Dean asked.

"As far as we're aware, but the deadline to register hasn't come yet," Gail told them. Then she grinned. "But you'd better watch the chauvinism, 'cause if there aren't any other candidates, it's a two out of three chance that your next God is going to be a woman."

"But it could also be Cas," Dean pointed out.

"Yes, it could also be Cas," Gail agreed. She kissed her husband on the cheek. "In fact, I think the chances are excellent that it will be Cas. It SHOULD be Cas. He's the logical choice, and he's the best choice."

"Hopefully, that's not your campaign slogan," Jody quipped. "'Cause if it is, it needs work."

Gail smiled. "You'd be right, if I was mounting a serious campaign. But I'm not. I only agreed to be on the ballot in the first place because we have to make sure Patricia doesn't win. But let's not talk about stupid politics right now. What I want to know is: when's the party?"

"That's an important question, but it's not the most important question," Cas remarked. "The most important question is, how are we going to explain the fact that Dean is alive?"

Everyone thought about that for a moment. Then Dean said, "I thought you were totally against using that spell to revive me," he said to Cas. "What happened there? Gail put the smackdown on you?"

"You could put it that way, yes," Cas replied, giving his wife a squeeze. "And I'm glad she did. As usual, she was right, and I was wrong."

Gail looked at him. "Laminated card," she and Cas said in unison, and they both laughed. "Everybody excuse us while we canoodle for a minute," Gail said, kissing Cas on the lips.

"Actually, I had an idea," Dean said, poking Cas. "Can't we just tell everybody you put some kind of Angel whammy on me, or something? Something that made it just seem like I was dead? We could say that we needed to have a funeral to make sure Lucifer was really gone, because the Tablet said I had to be dead."

Cas thought about that. It was weak, but it was at least an explanation of sorts. And most of the people they would have to explain it to were humans. They wouldn't know how these things really worked. Bobby would, but he would be so overjoyed to have Dean back that he probably wouldn't care. Actually, Cas was hoping that Bobby wouldn't demand a more detailed explanation. Cas had been so vociferously opposed to the spell book and Bobby's possession of it that it would be embarrassing for him to have to admit that he had helped his own wife use it to bring his best friend back. He nodded. "If everyone here is agreed, that's the explanation we'll go with, then."

Shortly afterwards, breakfast was over, and Cas was helping Sam clean up. Gail leaned back in her chair. "I could get used to this," she said, smiling.

"I don't know why men object to doing household chores," Cas remarked as he loaded the dishwasher. "I enjoy helping."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Way to go, Cas. Way to sell us all out."

Jody looked at her husband, amused. "Hey, you should be over there, taking notes. If you think you're not helping out around the house now, and even more when the baby comes, you're dreaming."

"I still can't believe it. Our Jody is pregnant," Sam said, grinning.

"YOU can't believe it?" she retorted, but she was smiling.

Chuck sat down beside Gail. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he said softly to her. She looked at him, and he gestured with his head towards the hallway. The Angels got up and walked out of the kitchen.

"What is it, Chuck?" Gail asked him.

"I think I might know where Bobby is, but I didn't know if I should say so in front of everyone," Chuck told her.

"Why? Where do you think he is?" she said, curious.

Chuck told her about taking Bobby to the downtown hotel when Gail had been held captive at Lucifer's compound, and Gail's heart sank. Of course. She should have figured as much.

"Now you can see why I didn't say anything," Chuck said to Gail. "I know he's a grown man, and I'm sure he went there of his own free will, at least, to begin with. But she's got this way of making you lose track of time. Don't you think it's strange that none of you have even heard from him? Sam and Dean are like his sons, aren't they? Wouldn't he at least have checked in with Sam at some point, just to make sure he was all right?"

Now, Gail was troubled. She was pretty sure that Chuck had a point. She asked him to go back to the kitchen and ask Cas to come out.

When he did, Gail took a moment to marvel at her husband's appearance. He had always been extremely handsome, but now he looked about fourty years younger, as well. She knew that didn't even make any sense, but it was true. This was what Cas looked like when he was happy and worry-free. How she wished he could look like this more often.

"I was hoping to get a moment alone with you," he said, smiling. He put his arms around her and kissed her on the mouth. His tongue came looking for hers, and she gave it to him, of course. They hadn't been able to be intimate with each other ever since they'd found out that Dean was going to have to die. But now, everything was all right again. Now, they could be happy again.

Cas pushed her gently against the wall, and his fingers lifted her top slightly. "I'm looking forward to the party, but I'm looking forward to being alone with you even more," Cas said softly. "I need to show you how much I love you. I'm sorry I fought with you, my love. I'm so glad you're not angry with me."

He kissed her again, more deeply this time, and Gail closed her eyes, making a sound in her throat. But then she reluctantly broke the kiss. "As much as I'm enjoying this, and believe me, I'm enjoying this, I have to talk to you about something," she said to her husband. She told Cas what Chuck had said, and Cas frowned.

"I should have known," he said, tight-lipped. "Bobby would never stay away from Sam voluntarily for this long, grief or no grief." He thought for a moment. "We'll tell the others that we have to go up to Heaven for a bit. Then we'll go over there to that hotel and see if Bobby needs any assistance. In any event, we'll urge him to accompany us back here. He needs to see that Dean is alive."

Gail nodded. She completely agreed. They couldn't let Bobby grieve for Dean any longer. She took Cas's hand and they walked back into the kitchen together.

"We have to go to Heaven for a few minutes," Cas announced to everyone.

"That's what I've always called it," Dean quipped. "Which reminds me, we have to figure out how to break the news to Nicole. I'm looking forward to showing her just how alive I really am, but I don't want her to flip out, either."

Gail's heart sank. Crap. Nicole. Another person who was still in mourning for Dean. "I'm sorry," she said to him. "I guess things are going to be a little complicated for a while, until we can break it to everyone gently." Then she smiled. "But, it certainly beats the alternative."

Dean grinned. "I agree," he said. "Oh, and don't get too worn out 'in Heaven', you guys. Angels or not, you're gonna drink with me at my party. I might even dance with you, Gail."

"It's a date," she advised him. "No takesies-backsies." She looked at Cas. Everyone was assuming they were actually going home for some alone time, but she didn't bother correcting them. Neither she nor Cas knew for sure if Bobby was even with Rowena at that hotel, and even if he was, they didn't necessarily know if it was even their business. Bobby wasn't God or even an Angel any more, and he was way past the age of consent. Just because the Angels thought it was a terrible idea, did that mean that they had any right to tell Bobby who he could or couldn't see? As long as Rowena wasn't causing them any trouble, they supposed there was nothing they could really do about it.

So they winked themselves over to the hotel. They didn't know which room number she might be in, of course, but they should be able to sense her, as long as she was in her human form. Each Angel took a floor, moving from corridor to corridor, side to side, until Gail paused in front of a door on the 16th Floor. She felt a really strong vibe coming from the room she was standing in front of now. If it wasn't Rowena, it was someone or something else that was ancient and powerful. Gail called Cas on their frequency and he appeared beside her immediately.

Gail pointed to the door, and they looked at each other for a moment. Now what? Cas shrugged. He tapped lightly on the door. No response. He knocked again, and they heard movement inside the room. Then, a voice: "Yes? Who's there?"

They looked at each other. Rowena's voice, complete with her signature Scottish brogue.

"Room service," Cas said. He gave Gail a small shrug. It was as good a ruse as any.

Rowena tied her robe tighter, yanking open the door. "That's impossible. We only called five - " She trailed off when she saw who it was. Damn. She made to close the door again, but Cas pushed it open, forcing her to step back.

Bobby came out of the bathroom, clothed only in a robe. He stopped short. "What are you two doing here?" he said irritably.

"We wanted to see how you were doing, Bobby," Gail said softly. "We haven't seen or heard from you in days."

"Yeah, well...I'm alive, as you can see," he told them.

They all stood there for a moment, and then Cas said, ""We'd like you to come back to the bunker with us."

"Well, he's not going to," Rowena said angrily. "It's you and your sanctimonious group that got Dean Winchester killed in the first place. Bobby wants nothing more to do with you."

"Fine," Cas said coolly, "but what about Sam? Don't you think that Sam needs you there, Bobby?"

Bobby dropped his eyes to the floor. "How's he doing?"

"How do you think he's doing, Bobby?" Gail said evasively.

"He needs you," Cas repeated.

Bobby looked at Rowena. "I've got to see him, Ro," he pleaded with her. "He's my family."

"He's not your family," Rowena said bitterly. "None of them are. I am. I'm your wife."

Bobby moved swiftly over to the bed and began to gather up his clothes. "That's bull, Ro," he said angrily. "Just because you did some kind of weirdo hex on me when I was passed out don't make us married."

"And just because you wish you were somebody's father doesn't make it so," she shot back. "So, you're going back there with these two, even though you told me you held them responsible for Dean's death?"

Cas was surprised, and more than a little hurt. "Did you really say that, Bobby?" he asked their friend.

"Oh, who the hell knows what I said?" Bobby said irascibly. "I've been tanked ever since I got here."

Gail put her hand on Cas's arm. She could tell that he was upset, but the main goal was to pry Bobby away from Rowena right now and get him to come to the bunker. Any further discussion could wait.

Bobby looked at the Angels. "Wait outside. I'll get dressed, and then I'll be right with you."

"I think we'll wait here, Bobby," Cas said calmly, eyeing Rowena. She glared at him. Bobby shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. His hands moved to the belt on his robe. Yikes, Gail thought, her eyes widening. He was going to get dressed right here. How drunk was he? She averted her eyes. But she agreed with Cas. There was no way they were leaving the room. Rowena couldn't be trusted. Gail was sure the witch had been whispering in Bobby's ear, telling him how Dean's death was all Cas's fault. Plying him with alcohol, and poisonous thoughts.

"You know, if you really loved Bobby, you would help him, not just put a lot of spiteful nonsense in his head," Gail said to Rowena.

Rowena glared at her. "You know nothing about me, or about our relationship," she retorted.

"That may be true, but I know that's not love, it's manipulation," Gail shot back.

"Stay out of my business, my girl," Rowena hissed.

"All right, Rowena, settle down," Bobby said to her. He was buttoning up his shirt now. "I'm gonna go see how Sam's doing. I'll call you."

"When?" she asked him.

"I'll call you," Bobby repeated vaguely. He moved towards Cas and Gail as Rowena let out a frustrated breath. Damn it. Only one or two more doses, and he would have told Castiel to go to hell. But there was nothing she could do about it now. If she raised an objection, Bobby would just walk out anyway. And she didn't dare tangle with the Angels right now. They had caught her completely by surprise.

As Rowena sat on the bed, fuming, Bobby and the Angels took the elevator down to the lobby of the hotel. Cas took out his cell phone and called Sam, letting him know that they were bringing Bobby to the bunker. Cas thought that once they got their friend there, they could sit him down and calmly explain what had happened.

But when they popped into the library area with Bobby, Dean was standing right there, waiting for them. He'd felt terrible about Bobby not being in the loop, and he hadn't wanted their friend to grieve a minute longer than he had to.

As soon as Bobby saw Dean, his face turned ashen. He staggered forward a few steps. "Dean?" he said in a hushed voice.

Then Bobby fell to the floor, unconscious.

Bobby woke up in the hospital, with Sam and Dean at his bedside. Cas and Gail were there too, though they weren't really supposed to be. Strictly speaking, neither were Sam and Dean, either. Bobby was in the ICU, and it was only after a lot of pleading and a little flirting that the Winchesters had been allowed to see their "father". Cas and Gail had tried to come in with them then, but the nurse had forbidden it. The patient had just had a massive heart attack; the last thing he needed was a crowd of people staring down at him when he awoke.

But Gail wasn't taking that as an answer. She waited until the nurse walked around the corner, and she followed the Winchesters into the room anyway. Cas sighed, and then he did the only thing he could do: he pushed open the door and went in after her. At least they could get a glimpse of their friend before the nurse returned to kick them out.

Dean felt awful. He'd had no idea Bobby would react this way. Bobby had survived being shot and stabbed numerous times when he'd been a Hunter. If there was a tougher man alive, Dean had yet to meet him. But what Dean had failed to take into consideration was that this human version of Bobby was older and a lot more frail than the version he was used to. Bobby had been self-medicating with alcohol pretty much since the moment Lucifer had kicked him out of Heaven, and after Dean's death, Bobby had completely given up.

"I'm so sorry, Bobby," Dean said as soon as he saw their friend's eyes open.

"Is it really you, boy? Are you alive? Or did I already die, and we're both in Heaven?"

"No, I'm alive, Bobby," Dean assured him.

"How?" Bobby asked.

"It's a long story," Dean said. "Rest up, and we'll talk about it when you get better."

"No, we'll talk about it now," Bobby rasped. "You were dead. We burned your body."

"That wasn't Dean we burned," Sam said gently. "Cas and Gail brought Dean back."

"Really? Cas and Gail? What do you think, I was born yesterday, boy? What really happened?" Bobby said irritably.

Gail glanced at the men. Then she looked down at Bobby. "I brought Dean back, with Sam and Cas's help," she told the older man. "I used the revival spell from Rowena's spell book."

Bobby laughed shortly, but then his laugh changed into a cough. Gail was alarmed. "Do you want me to go get the nurse?" she asked him, starting to leave the room.

"No, dear, I want you to stay," Bobby said. "I want you and Cas to stay. I want all four of you to hear my confession."

Dean's eyes grew wide. "Your confession? What are you talking about?"

"You need to rest up and get better, Bobby," Sam told him. "In fact, I think we should leave now, so you can get some sleep."

"You'll stay right here," Bobby ordered. "And don't argue with me. I don't have much time. I'm letting go. In a way, I'm glad this happened. I don't belong here anymore. My body aches all the time, and I don't sleep well unless I've got a snootful. Hunting is a younger man's game. When I was an Angel, my vessel wasn't as agile as all of yours, but at least it didn't betray me all the time. I'm sick of feeling old and pathetic. So, unless I have to do some time in Purgatory because of what I've been doing with Rowena, I expect I'll be an Angel again in no time. And if I have to wait in the Garden until one of you comes to get me, well, that's my doing, too. And even if I go to the Netherworld, Linda and I can play cards and drink tea. Maybe she can teach me how to paint. So you see, it's not so bad. It's not bad at all. I'm ready to go."

"You don't have to make your confession, Bobby," Castiel said soberly. "Your business is your own. I promise you, if you do go to the Garden, you'll be the first one we look for. And if either Gail or I are successful in attaining the Office, we will ensure that you have an open assignment here on Earth, any time that you want to come here."

"Thanks, Cas," Bobby said with relief. "I haven't always been fair to you in the past, but I just want you to know that I think you would make a really good God, now. You too, Gail."

"Yeah, yeah," she teased him gently. "We all know we want it to be Cas. But, thanks anyway." She grabbed her husband's hand. "Come on, let's give these guys a moment," Gail told Cas. "Oh, and Bobby..." She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I hope we'll see you real soon."

"Thank you, dear," he said, smiling.

She and Cas left the room, and Bobby said, "OK, now that the Angels are gone, let's get down to business. I've got some money under the mattress in my room at the bunker. I want you guys to take it and throw me the most wild, booze-filled wake you can buy at the Hunters' bar. Get them to close it down to the public, and only invite the usual suspects. Remember Dean's service, Sam? I want that, only just the drinking and telling funny stories part. No body-burning until you guys find out where I've gone. With any luck, I'll just be able to keep my same vessel, like I did before. Hopefully, rank'll have its privileges. I mean, I was God, once. That oughta count for something."

"So would you be grandfathered, or Godfathered, then?" Sam quipped.

Dean looked at him, frowning, but Bobby's beard twitched. "Make sure to tell that one at my wake. Frank'll love it. Don't be sad, boys. I'm not. This works out great. I prayed to God to trade my life for yours, Dean. Turns out I'm just getting my wish."

Then Bobby closed his eyes and reached out his hands. Sam and Dean took one hand each in theirs, Bobby smiled once more, and then he died.

"I must say, this is a bit of a surprise," Death remarked calmly.

"Maybe for you," Bobby responded. "For me, not so much." He looked around. "Well, I guess we can rule out the Garden, then."

"Why would you say that?" Death asked curiously.

"Well, I've been to the Garden, and this ain't it," Bobby said bluntly.

"I just wanted to have a little chat with you, first," Death remarked. "We both have as much time as it takes." He paused, then said, "Do you think Castiel will win the election?"

Bobby looked at him, startled. "Since when would you care about Heaven's politics?"

Death shrugged. "What happens there could affect me greatly," he stated. "In the same way that I follow the elections that are held on Earth. Countries can take on the personalities of their leaders. Business, for lack of a better term, can pick up if someone with an unsuitable temperament is allowed to take the reins of power. That is why I am glad that Lucifer has finally been eradicated. But do you think Castiel is suited to be God, Bobby?"

It was a little disconcerting to have Death ask his opinion like this, but Bobby decided to answer honestly. "Ya know, if it had been a few years ago, I'd have said no. But he's a better man, now. I think Gail has helped him a lot in that regard." Bobby's beard twitched a little. "You know she's thrown her hat in the ring too, right?"

"Yes, but from what I understand, that's more of a nullification tactic than an actual candidacy," Death remarked thoughtfully.

Bobby stared at him for a moment, and his beard twitched again. "You didn't dumb that down for me. I appreciate that," he told Death. "Most people hear my down-home accent, and they think they have to use one-syllable words when they talk to me. Don't tell him I said so, but even Sam is like that with me, sometimes."

"I know you're an intelligent man, Bobby," Death told him. "Our Father knew that too, but I'm of the opinion that he didn't leave you with enough information or tools to do the job properly. Maybe if he had, there wouldn't be any need for an election now. For instance, did you know that once you have held the High Office, you are grandfathered for certain things?"

"Funny, Sam made a joke about that just before I died," Bobby remarked. "You sure you weren't there, already?"

Death made a face. "Please. Deathbed goodbyes are very personal. I always tell my Reapers to maintain a respectful distance until the proper time."

Bobby gave Death a nod of his head. That didn't surprise him. People in Bobby's circle felt strongly about Death, but the Ultimate Reaper had a quiet sense of dignity and propriety that couldn't be denied. "My apologies," Bobby said. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"For one thing, once you have been God, even if you are no longer so, you will have the ability to overcome sigils, going forward as an Angel," Death told him. Oh, Bobby thought. Well, that certainly cleared up a mystery. He remembered at least one occasion when he'd found himself able to use his powers after he had resigned, even though there were sigils around. Even Cas had been able to overcome them, with a great effort. That made sense though, too, when Bobby thought more about it. Bobby'd been God for several years; Cas had only held the position for one day. Still, it would have been nice to have known that.

He frowned. "It would have helped to know that," he said dryly. "Anything else?"

"We'll talk about that in a moment," Death said evasively. "But let's talk some more about the election, first. In your honest opinion, would either Castiel, Gail, or Patricia be best suited for the Office?"

Bobby thought about that. "Remember, I want your honest opinion," Death prompted.

"Like I said, Cas would be better at it now than he would have been a few years ago," Bobby said slowly. "But, truthfully? I think he's still got a ways to go. He's still too hotheaded, sometimes. His detractors have said that they think he might start a Holy War with Crowley one day, and I've gotta tell you, I don't think we could entirely rule that out." Then he paused. "Then, there's Gail. Sweet little Gail. Big brown doe eyes, sunny disposition. But every once in a while, she'll turn on you. It's funny. One of my neighbours growing up had a puppy. Cutest little thing in the world. We all went over there and played with that puppy every day, for a week or so. Then one day, out of the blue, it bit my buddy's nose just about clean off. Mind you, he was playin' kinda rough with it, but he wasn't doing anything that the rest of us hadn't already done to it. It was just on that day, at that time, that puppy decided it wasn't gonna take our crap anymore."

"Are you telling me that the Angel Gail is like that puppy?" Death asked Bobby curiously.

"I'm just talking about a story from my childhood," Bobby said evasively.

A moment's silence, and then Death asked, "And what about Patricia?"

"She's a smart, capable woman," Bobby replied. "There was a time when I thought that maybe she and I...Anyway, then Lucifer came, and I haven't seen Patricia since. I hear she's changed. If I'm around, I'll have to see for myself. But if she's as bad as Cas seems to think she is now, then she might be the worst one of all."

Death digested this for a minute. "I would like to propose a situation that could be of mutual benefit to us, then."

Bobby eyed him. "Is that your way of saying that you'd like to make a deal?"

"I'll leave the deals to Crowley," Death said dryly. "But there is something I want from you, and I am prepared to give you something you want, in return." As Bobby looked at him warily, Death continued, "If you promise me that you will run in Heaven's election, I will bring you directly to the Portal."

Bobby looked at him in surprise. "You want me to run? Why?"

"Because your administration was stable," Death replied. "Those other scenarios unease me."

"So I'll go directly to Heaven?" Bobby said. "No Garden?"

"That's right," Death said. "You need to get to Heaven before the deadline for the candidates to apply is over."

"If I say no, what will happen to me?" Bobby inquired.

"Nothing will 'happen' to you," Death said with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Once again, I am not Crowley. But if you decide you would rather not, as a former God, you are a dignitary. And, as such, I would be taking you to the Netherworld."

Bobby pursed his lips together. In a way, this felt like blackmail. But then again, he realized that if he really did believe his own assessment of the three candidates for the position, maybe he owed it to Heaven to throw his hat in the ring. Hell, maybe he owed it to himself, too. There were a lot of good things that Bobby could get done if he was back in the Office. Quitting had been a mistake, and he had often regretted it.

"You have a deal," he told Death.

Death nodded. "Oh, and one more thing, Bobby," he asked. "Tell Dean Winchester that he cannot hide from me indefinitely. The next time he dies, and with your lot, I feel safe to say that the next time will be soon, I will find him."

Bobby was stunned. So, Death had come for Dean, but Dean had been hidden from him? Bobby didn't know how such a thing was even possible, so he said nothing.

Suddenly, the men were standing in front of a set of white double doors. "Here's where I leave you," Death said. "Good luck, Bobby." He disappeared without another word, and Bobby opened the doors and walked into Heaven.

The first thing Bobby did once he was back in Heaven was to try out Angel Radio. "Hey, Cas. Ya got your ears on?"

Cas came back immediately, and Bobby could hear the smile in his voice. "I was hoping we would hear from you, Bobby!" he said excitedly. "But, how is it possible? Angel Radio doesn't work in the Garden."

"I'm not in the Garden. I went directly to Heaven. 'Do Not Pass Go'," Bobby replied.

"Go? Go where?" Cas asked, and Bobby laughed. Cas had come a long way, but he was still Cas.

"Well, that's wonderful!" Cas continued. "I can't wait to tell everyone! Better still, why don't you come back down here, and you can tell them yourself?"

"I can't, Cas. I tried, but I can't. I guess I'm back at Square One. And don't ask me what a geometric shape has to do with it," Bobby said good-naturedly. "Anyway, can you and Gail come up here for a minute? I need to talk to you both about something. Oh, and tell Sam and Dean I still want that wake. Dean's return deserves a party, anyway. Too bad I won't be able to make it."

Cas gave everyone the good news, and then he and Gail popped into Heaven. Bobby was waiting in the boardroom. "I'm kinda homeless at the moment," he told them. "I guess I'd better see Laurel after this. She can show me where my cabin is, and assign me an office."

"Cabin?" Cas asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, I'm hoping," Bobby replied. "I was never an apartment or house kind of guy."

Gail moved forward to hug Bobby. "Well, Laurel will be thrilled to see you, just like we are. But how did you bypass the Garden?"

"That's what I need to talk to the two of you about," Bobby said. He went on to tell them about the deal he had struck up with Death.

Cas frowned. "I knew he didn't like me, but the fact that he's meddling in Heaven's affairs like this makes me feel - "

" - Angry?" Bobby said dryly. "You see, Cas, this is part of the problem. You have a reputation."

"Maybe I should just withdraw, then," Cas said in a slightly miffed tone.

"No, sweetie, I don't think you should," Gail said, putting her hand on his arm. "Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but I think you'd make a terrific God. So do a lot of other people."

"Do you really think so?" he asked her.

"Yes, I honestly do," she told him.

"For the record, I only agreed to run because Death said he'd fast-track me to Heaven," Bobby told the couple. He didn't see the sense in telling them anything more than that. Let it sink in for a while. They were his friends, after all.

Gail shrugged. "That's OK, Bobby. We want Heaven to be a democracy. That's why we put the election rules into law in the first place. Two men, two women. I think it's a really balanced slate. And truthfully, the more people we have running against Patricia, the better."

Bobby frowned. "Is she really that bad?"

Gail gave him a half-shrug. "You can see for yourself, when you talk to her. But Cas and I think she is."

Bobby frowned again. "Oh, and by the way, Death said that he looked for Dean when Dean died, but he couldn't find him. Did you have anything to do with that, Cas?"

"No," Cas said, astonished. "I wouldn't even begin to know how to do something like that."

"Huh," Bobby said thoughtfully. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on."

"Thanks, Bobby. We appreciate that. We're going to go back down to the bunker now. We're planning your wake," Gail told him with a smile. "It's going to be one helluva bash, especially now that we know you're here, and you're fine. I'll get Cas to take some pictures with his cell phone. Maybe if one of the guys passes out, we'll put some lipstick and a tutu on him."

Bobby smiled affectionately at her. "No offense to you, Cas, but I'm very tempted to vote for your wife for the High Office. She would sure be the funniest God we've ever had."

"And the cutest, and the most beautiful, as well," Cas said, taking Gail's hand. The couple smiled at each other. "We'll see you soon, Bobby." They popped out of the boardroom as Bobby smiled, too. Some things had definitely changed, but some things remained the same.

Suddenly, the couple popped back into the room. "Sorry, Bobby, but I just remembered. We forgot to tell you something: Jody's pregnant," Gail told their friend.

Bobby's jaw dropped. "That's fantastic!" he exclaimed.

"All the more reason why one of us has to win that election," Cas said firmly. "You need to be able to visit Earth. I believe your job will be to buy Frank and Jody the world's biggest teddy bear," he deadpanned. Then he and Gail disappeared again.

Bobby shook his head, smiling again. His friends. They were all right, really. Now he felt a little bit bad about assessing them so harshly when he'd been talking with Death about their respective candidacies. But friendship was one thing, and holding the High Office was another. It might seem a little harsh, but Bobby was standing by his opinion.

He left the boardroom.

The party was in full swing, and everyone had been having a great time. The only person who was missing was Bobby, but since it was his wake, that was a normal state of affairs.

All of their friends were there, both Angel and human. Cas had popped up to Vancouver and gotten Barry, Tommy and Rob, telling them that Dean was miraculously alive and well. All three of them had accepted his story at face value, although Rob had given him a bit of a strange look.

They had talked about Nicole, but Dean had been reluctant to bring her to the kind of raucous celebration that this promised to be. So they had decided on a compromise. Cas and Gail had used Sam's computer to Skype Nicole from the bunker. They had told her that they might have some good news for her regarding Dean very soon, and she was ecstatic. Nicole assumed that meant that Dean was going to be an Angel, and they didn't bother to correct her. There would be time enough for that. But at least she had hope, now.

The wake was a private function. They had bribed the owners of the bar handsomely to close the premises to the public. So they hung a sign on the door and turned the keys over to Dean, after he had greased their palms with a very generous damage deposit. And then, the party had begun.

Gail and the brothers were at the bar, and Tommy was behind it, mixing drinks. To the Winchesters' delight, they had found out that bartending was another one of Tommy's hidden talents. Sam had quipped that Tommy's life was one big Tom Cruise movie.

"You can fly jet planes, like in Top Gun, and now we find out that you can tend bar, like in Cocktail," Sam said, grinning.

Tommy returned his smile. "Yeah and finding an affordable wedding venue in Vancouver is turning out to be Mission Impossible," he joked.

"Cas and I will come up there and help you out," Gail told him. "I can do the two-finger system now, too. We'll get you some deep, deep discounts."

"Now, now, is that any kind of talk for an Angel?" Crowley said.

Gail started. "What are you doing here? How'd you get in?"

"Sweetheart, please," he said with an indulgent smile. "If you wanted to keep me out, you would have to do a lot better than a locked door and a sign." He looked at Tommy. "Set me up, barkeep. Your finest scotch, please."

"We didn't invite you," Dean said bluntly.

"Nonetheless, here I am," Crowley said cheerfully. Tommy was looking at him doubtfully. Gail sighed, rolling her eyes, and gestured to their friend. "What the hell, Tommy. You may as well. I'll buy him a drink," she said. "He did help us out with Lucifer over there."

Crowley gave her a nod of the head. "That's not all I did, either." He accepted the drink from Tommy. "Cheers." He took a sip of the drink, then said, "And may I say, it's good to see the team of Moose and Squirrel back together again."

"What are you doing here?" Cas said angrily. He had been across the room talking with Frank and Jody. Then he had felt the sudden presence of another Original, and since the only other one left alive was his Brother, Cas had known that Crowley was here.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Crowley said calmly. "I'm here for the same reason all of you are: to celebrate the fact that Dean is alive and well."

"You'll forgive me if I'm skeptical about that," Cas said dryly.

"You're forgiven," Crowley said, smirking. He took another sip of his drink.

Frank had followed close behind Cas when his brother-in-law had rushed over here, and he threw his hands up once he saw Crowley. "OK, that's it. If this becomes a Demon bar, I'm not coming here anymore," Frank quipped. "What are you doing here, Crowley?"

"If one more person asks me that..." Crowley said good-naturedly. "Relax, Frank. I'm not here as an adversary; not today, at least. I'm here to rejoice at the return of your friend. And to express my condolences on your other friend. Although I daresay we'll be seeing Bobby again, very soon. Seeing as he was God at one point, I'm sure Death will grandfather him. Or, Godfather him, if you prefer."

"That's what I said!" Sam exclaimed, and his arm moved involuntarily. With a moment's horror, he realized that he'd been just about to high-five the King of Hell. How drunk WAS he? He put his glass down on the bar, backing away from it.

Cas sighed. "Be that as it may, we did not invite you here. Your presence is not welcome."

Crowley looked him up and down. "How I wish I could start a crowdfunding campaign to get that stick out of your arse. I guess I'm going to have to start stockpiling weapons, just in case you attain the High Office, Castiel. Even your wife was kind enough to buy me a drink. I think I'll root for her, instead." He put his empty glass down on the bar. "In any event, I just came here to get my 'props', as I believe the urabn expression goes. When we were all in Madagascar, while you and the Missus and Sam were all fighting Lucifer, I shielded Dean from Death's eyes."

"YOU did?" Cas said, astonished. "Why?"

Crowley was pleased with himself. "Because I saw your wife and Moose exchange that look, and I correctly interpreted it," he said to Cas. "Maybe you should spend less time being righteous, and more time paying attention to your wife."

Cas's hands were curling into fists. "And maybe YOU should spend less time being smug, and more time stockpiling those weapons you were talking about," he said angrily. "Because if I do achieve the High Office, you just might need them."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "You do so enjoy your anger, don't you, Castiel? Look around you. This is a party." He looked at Gail. "Thank you for the drink. At least someone here knows how to show a little gratitude. And you're welcome for the blood, too. But I'm a little surprised your sanctimonious husband didn't burn my mother's spell book."

"My spell book? What about my spell book?" Rowena said, approaching their group.

Dean threw his hands up in frustration, just as Frank had a couple of minutes earlier. "I knew we should have brought those damn candlesticks!"

Rowena pointed her finger at him. "This is all your fault," she hissed at Dean. "You, and your Angels. You should have stayed dead. Then, my Bobby would still be here with me."

"Listen, lady, none of this is any of your business," Frank told her. "I'd leave, if I were you. No one likes you here."

Crowley smirked. "Finally, something my former Knight and I can agree on."

"'Knight'? What's he talking about, Dad?" Rob said, coming forward now.

"Get back, Rob," Frank said, gritting his teeth.

"What's he talking about?" Rob asked again.

"Well, well," Crowley said, raising an eyebrow. "Apparently, your adoptive father hasn't shared his illustrious past with you."

"Shut up, Crowley," Frank snapped.

"I'm surprised young Robert here doesn't already know all about you," Crowley continued. "That's his forte, isn't it?"

Cas's eyes narrowed. "What do you know about that?"

"Can we please just get back to the point?" Rowena said, raising her voice. "Are you saying that Gail used my spell book to revive Dean? MY spell book?" She glared daggers at Gail. "Give it back to me."

"No," Gail said shortly. "That's my property," Rowena said, tight-lipped.

"You gave it to Bobby, and he gave it to Sam and Dean," Gail pointed out. "Therefore, it's part of the bunker's library, now."

"If you don't give it back, you'll regret it," Rowena hissed. "I can put any number of hexes on you, my girl."

"Oh, yeah? Well, apparently, so can I," Gail said pertly. "I can do any spell in that book, the same as you. And if that's not enough to get you to behave, my husband is going to be God soon. So I'd go easy on the threats, if I were you." She looked at Crowley. "You're always talking about doing your mother in. I'll tell you what. We'll all close our eyes and count to ten. Go ahead, Crowley. Have at it."

"I can't," Crowley said through gritted teeth.

"Sure you can. It's easy. I ought to know; I've already done it," Gail said to him.

"You don't understand," the King of Hell replied, frustrated. "I mean, I'm unable to do it."

"Really?" Cas asked. "And why is that?"

"Because she used that same spell to revive me," Crowley replied.

"Say what, now?" Dean said.

Crowley sighed. "It turns out that a by-product of the spell you used to bring Dean back to life, sweetheart, is that the revivee cannot kill the reviver, once the reviver has brought them back to life. Therefore, I am unable to kill my dear mother, as much as I would like to."

Gail's mouth dropped open, and she looked at Cas. So, THAT was why Crowley had kept on trying to get them to kill Rowena for him. Now it all made sense.

But Sam was grinning now. "So that means that Dean can't kill me, or Gail, or Cas? No matter how much we piss him off?"

"That's right, Moose," Crowley said agreeably.

"That is - how would you put it, Dean? Awesome!" Sam crowed. Gail stuck her hand out, and Sam high-fived it.

Rowena was seething. None of these grinning fools had any idea what Bobby meant to her, and they also had no idea who they were messing with. "I could mix up a love potion that would make Castiel fall in love with someone else," she said to Gail. "A potion so strong that he would turn around and kill you, if the object of his desire asked him to."

Becky perked up at that. She and the other Angels had been standing at the other end of the bar with Barry and Jody, but they had all been slowly edging over to the group, in case their friends needed backup. Becky was very much interested in what she had just heard. She glanced at Sam, who was glaring at Rowena. Sam still had feelings for Gail, Becky was sure of it, and the young Angel was done waiting. Gail was always hanging around the bunker, and if Cas became God, he wouldn't be around all the time, like he was now. Becky had herself convinced that the longer she waited, the closer she would be to losing Sam altogether. Poor Becky. She had never been able to accept the fact that Sam would never be an option for her.

"Yeah? Try it!" Gail shouted at Rowena. "Maybe the King of Hell can't kill you, but any number of the people in this room sure can!"

Rowena raised her arm to hex Gail, and Cas stepped in front of his wife. He grabbed the witch's arm and took his blade out of his blazer's pocket. He thrust it towards her, but the blade stopped just before it entered her chest.

"Do you think I was born yesterday, Castiel?" Rowena said, laughing sardonically. "I put a protective spell on myself before I came here. And for your information, dearie," she added, looking at Gail, "that spell is not in my book. So I guess you'll just have to be looking over your shoulder from now on, won't you?"

"Either that, or I'll just hang out in Heaven, which is one place I know YOU'LL never be," Gail shot back. "I'll say hi to Bobby for you, when I get there."

Rowena's eyes narrowed, and she shook free of Castiel's grip. "You will regret that." She spat out the threat, but she was vastly outnumbered, and she knew it. Even if she couldn't be stabbed with a blade at the moment, she'd better get out of there before Castiel came to his senses and realized that he could just strangle her with his bare hands. She turned on her heel and stalked out of the bar.

Cas stood there breathing heavily for a moment, and then he put his blade back in his jacket. Then he turned around and went to Gail, taking her in his arms. "I won't let her hurt you," he said.

"None of us will," Sam added. "Don't worry."

Becky was alarmed by that. She didn't like the way that Sam was looking at Gail, not one bit. But nobody was looking at Becky at the moment, so she popped herself outside.

"Wait!" she called out to Rowena. The witch stopped and turned around.

"What do you want, my girl?" she asked Becky.

"I heard what you said about the love potion," the young Angel said. "Is it true?"

Rowena smirked. "Now, what would an Angel need with a love potion?"

"How do you know I'm an Angel?" Becky asked, startled.

"I know who you are, Becky," Rowena replied calmly. "I know many things, including who you're thinking of using it on. Sam Winchester."

Becky was struck momentarily speechless. How did Rowena know about that? But then again, she was obviously a very powerful witch, so Becky supposed she had her ways.

"Well, you're wasting your time," Rowena continued. "Even if we were able to work out some kind of an arrangement, I don't want anything to do with Angels. You saw how they treated me in there. That ungrateful little...she didn't even have the courtesy to thank me, for the use of my spell. And her husband tried to kill me! Meanwhile, Sam was looking at her like...Never mind," Rowena said huffily. She turned around and started walking away, slowly.

"I know, right?" Becky exclaimed. "That's why I need that love potion!"

Rowena smiled. The fish were biting. She turned back around. "I can't help you now, dearie. But, I'll tell you what; if you get that assignment to Earth I know you've been looking for, here's my card." She reached into the cleavage of her dress and pulled out an actual business card. It had her first name only, and a telephone number on it, and that was it. She handed it to Becky. "And, just in case you were thinking of double-crossing me, that card will set itself on fire if anyone but you touches it. Look me up, if you decide you want to learn from the best."

Becky looked down at the business card, and by the time she looked back up, Rowena was gone.

"Well, that was bloody entertaining," Crowley enthused. "A drink, and a show. Maybe I should visit a bit more often."

"You're done visiting now," Frank said to him.

Crowley was amused. "Really, Frank? You forget yourself. You're of no threat to me whatsoever."

"I am, however, and so is my wife, and we would be glad to put that to the test," Cas said coolly.

"All right, Castiel," Crowley said, holding up his hands. "All right."

"Wait a minute," Gail said to Crowley. "I want to talk to you for a moment before you take off."

"You, I'll talk to," the King of Hell said affably. "You seem to be the only one here with any manners."

"We'll be right back," Gail said to their friends. She put one hand on Crowley's arm and the other on Cas's and winked them outside. The three of them were alone. Rowena had already left, and Becky had winked herself back inside following their conversation, pocketing Rowena's business card.

"What do you know about Rob?" Gail asked Crowley without any preliminary. "And, for that matter, what do you know about me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, sweetheart," he said airily.

"Don't give me that," she shot back. "I know you know something."

"I know a lot of things," Crowley said evasively.

"Go ahead, then. Kill him," Gail said to Cas frustrated.

"I'll be glad to," Cas said happily, opening his blazer once more.

"Very funny," Crowley said, but he was eyeing Cas warily now.

"Who's laughing?" Cas said angrily.

"You have a party to get back to, and I don't want to keep you from it," Crowley said. "Better start pressing that flesh if you hope to win the election, Castiel. I fear your sparkling personality won't be enough to seal the deal." He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

"Damn it!" Gail exclaimed. "We've gotta keep him in one place long enough to get some answers!"

"I'm sorry, my love," Cas said.

"Not your fault," she told him. "But you know what? He was right. We have a party to get back to, now. Let's loosen up and enjoy ourselves a little, for a change. Lucifer's gone, Dean is alive, and Bobby's an Angel again. That's a win-win-win. Haven't we had enough of problems for a while?"

Cas smiled. He put his arms around her. "You're right, my darling. Let's go and have some fun with our friends. And then later, we'll go home and have some fun with each other. How does that sound?"

Gail smiled up at him. "It almost sounds like I want to blow off the party and go straight home," she said mischievously. "But we have all the time in the world now. I have some ideas about what we can do, going forward."

"So do I," Cas said, smiling. He leaned down and kissed her neck, then gave her earlobe a delicate lick. "But for the record, I know what you mean, my darling. It'll be wonderful, planning for our future," he said into her ear.

"OK, give me one really good kiss just to tide me over, and then we'll go back inside for a couple of hours," Gail said to her husband. He kissed her on the mouth, and their tongues danced together. Cas sighed contentedly. Then, a moment later, they popped back inside to join their friends.

Crowley poured himself a drink and sat down behind his desk. Obviously, the Angels weren't going to just let it go. He could understand from Gail's point of view why she would want to know about her origins, but it was like the old adage: Don't ask the question, unless you're absolutely sure you want to know the answer.

He sat back in his chair, remembering back to the night he met Frank's mother.

VIGNETTE - VOODOO CHILD

Christina heard the front door open, and she looked up in surprise. Jim had just left a short while ago. He was good at what he did, but still...She was glad, though. She was in the kitchen heating up Gail's bottle. If she could feed the baby and get her to go to sleep for a few hours, maybe Jim and Christina could open a bottle of wine and watch a movie. It was so seldom that they got a chance to do anything like that, any more.

She was just about to call out to her husband when he called out to her instead, but his voice sounded strange. Then she heard him cough, and then she heard a crash.

Christina turned off the burner and ran out to the hallway. Jim was laying there, bleeding from the chest. Christina gasped.

"Help me to the couch," Jim said weakly. Christina put her arms around him and the two of them staggered to the living room. She laid her husband down on the couch. "I'm calling 911," she told her husband, but he grabbed her wrist. "No. There isn't time," he said. "I have a bankbook hidden under the floorboard of our closet, and some cash in the basement," he told her. Then he coughed again. "I'm sorry, Chris. I love you." Then he closed his eyes, and then he died.

Christina was in shock. "No," she said. "No!" She started shaking her husband, as if trying to wake him up. "No, Jim! Come back! Please don't leave me like this!"

Baby Gail heard her shout, and the infant began to cry. Christina had just gotten the baby settled down before feeding time, but now Gail was wailing again. Christina glanced at the crib, which was across the room from the couch. Whenever Jim was out in the evening, Christina always kept the baby by her in the living room while she watched TV, just in case. Frank was in Kindergarten now, and he had his own room, upstairs.

What was Christina going to do? She looked back down at Jim. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. She loved him. She needed him. How on earth could she be expected to cope, with two young children and no husband? Christina wasn't cut out to be a single mother, the head of a household. Jim was the one who worked and paid the bills. Her job was to take care of the kids and maintain the house. She'd never paid a bill in her life. She and Jim had married young, and Jim was a take-charge kind of man. That was one of the first things that had attracted Christina to him.

He'd told her he was a Hunter before he'd proposed, and Christina had been OK with it, or so she'd thought. Truthfully, she had looked up to him all the more because of it. But she had blinded herself to the very real dangers. Jim had always come home to her, and he had always been just fine. She had never allowed herself to believe that he could be killed. He'd told her a bit about his experiences out in the field, battling Demons and various monsters, and he had spoken so knowledgeably that she'd had every confidence in the world that nothing could ever happen to him.

But now, there was this. Christina's mind disconnected from her grief and began to free-associate. Jim had told her that there was a way to bring someone back from the dead, but he'd also said that it was an unholy arrangement, made by purely desperate people. There was a place called the crossroads, where these people went to summon Demons from Hell. If they were able to strike up a deal, the person petitioning the Demon would get anything they asked for, but only for a ten-year period. Then, at the end of the ten years, hellhounds would come and take the person who'd made the deal to Hell.

Anything they wanted...Christina thought about that. But, that was crazy. How could she even be considering this? But how else was she going to get her husband back? Ten years was a long time, and Jim was a Hunter. He'd dispatched lots of Demons before. If an ordinary person were to make that deal, they would probably have no recourse. But Christina persuaded herself that Jim would be able to figure out a way to get around it, somehow.

He had even told her where the crossroads were located, so that she could avoid the area. Christina pursed her lips. Baby Gail was still crying. Christina walked over to the crib, looking down at the infant. And that decided her. Gail was so innocent, so fragile. She needed two parents, and so did Frank.

"I'm going to bring your father back," Christina said to Gail. Suddenly, the baby stopped crying and peered at Christina intently. Christina had seen her do that before, almost as if she could understand every word that was being said. "Don't worry," Christina continued. "Everything will be all right again, I promise."

Gail was no longer crying. She was just staring at Christina now, with those wide, dark eyes. "Don't look at me like that," Christina said hastily. "I have to do this." Then she gave her head a shake. What was she doing? Gail was a tiny baby. The accusation that Christina saw in the child's eyes was obviously a figment of her imagination.

Christina rushed back to the couch and fished in her husband's pants pocket for the car keys. Then she went to the front hallway and stood there indecisively for another moment. Frank was upstairs sleeping, but he was just a little boy. Should she really be vacating the house, leaving two very young children alone? No, but the alternative was far worse. She was going to see a Demon from Hell. She would hurry there, then hurry back. The kids would be fine.

Christina seldom drove. She lacked the confidence to be a competent driver, so she chose not to do it. But she had no choice now. Fortunately, the crossroads was in a remote area, so she encountered no traffic.

She parked the car and got out, hurrying to the intersection. But then, it occurred to her that she had no idea what to do now. Jim had never told her exactly how contact was made. Now she was indecisive again. Maybe, if she concentrated really, really hard, something would happen. What was the opposite of praying, exactly? She shut her eyes tight, pleading for someone to come.

Hiram was passing by the Portal, and he happened to hear her. The last one who went out there had obviously left the door open a crack. Would Crowley ever be pissed, if he found out. But, Hiram was in a bind. His numbers weren't good this month. As a crossroads Demon, his job was to close deals. But he lacked that quality, that extra bit of persuasion that was sometimes needed. If the person he was talking to showed the slightest bit of reluctance to sign the contract, Hiram would usually just back down, and let them leave. As a result, his numbers were anemic, and the King of Hell could get very creative with his punishments at the annual job review.

Whoever was up there now obviously had no idea what the proper procedure was, but Hiram wasn't going to let that stand in his way. He exited through the Portal and appeared in front of a very frightened Christina.

"You rang?" he said in a deep, sonorous voice. He'd always wanted to say that.

Christina was terrified now, but she managed to explain the situation to him in a shaky, tearful voice. If he could bring her husband back to life, she would do anything, sign anything he needed her to sign.

Hiram smiled. Wow. This one was a slam-dunk. And boy, she couldn't have come at a better time. She was a bit of a looker, too. He was gonna enjoy closing this one. He went into his pocket for a standard contract form. The breath spray was in there too, of course. He always kept both of those things handy. And it was a good thing he did. The last deal he'd made had been with a guy who had the strongest garlic breath Hiram had ever smelled or tasted. He'd had to give both himself and the guy a few blasts of the spray just to make the kiss tolerable. Well, that and close his eyes and picture Rihanna. The kiss was an iron-clad part of the deal, so even though a fat, middle-aged Italian male with garlic breath that could choke a horse was hardly Hiram's preferred flavour, he was required to kiss him. When Crowley had been a crossroads Demon, he had introduced the kiss as part of the deal. They had ridiculed him for it, but then it had caught on, and now, it was mandatory. Crowley and his weird sense of humour. But he was the King, and his word was the law.

"Name?" Hiram asked Christina. She gave it to him, and he wrote it on the contract under Petitioner. You could say what you wanted to about Crowley, as long as he didn't find out about it of course, but everyone had to admit that the guy wrote one hell of a contract. Pun definitely intended.

"Name of deceased?" Hiram said in a businesslike tone. Christina started to cry, and Hiram let out a frustrated breath. He hoped she dried up a bit before kissing time. He hated it when they were soggy.

Christina sniffled back the tears and told the Demon Jim's name, and his pen paused. There was something about that name...Another hallmark of Crowley's organizational skills was that he had a "Red List" that he gave to all of his employees that worked topside. The names on the list were revised regularly to reflect the individuals the King had a special interest in. And this "Jim's" name was on the list; Hiram was sure of it.

"Wait here," he told a puzzled Christina, and he popped back into Hell. He proceeded directly to Crowley's office and knocked on the door. Crowley didn't have any guards outside. He was so powerful that he didn't need them. But everybody knew that you knocked on his door at your own risk. If you were there to waste the King's time, he would chew you up and spit you out. But Hiram was sure that Crowley would be interested in what he had to say.

"Come," Crowley called out in response to the knock.

Hiram wasted no time in explaining the situation to the King, and when he mentioned Jim's name, Crowley raised an eyebrow. "The Hunter?" he said, but his question was rhetorical. He knew the name of every person on that Red List, and what each individual was all about. He sat back in his chair and regarded Hiram coolly. "Now, what on earth would make you think that I would ever agree to revive a Hunter? You know what they do, right?"

Hiram's blood ran cold. Crap. Oh, crap. He hadn't really thought about it from that viewpoint. He'd just reacted to the fact that the name had been on the list. He thought fast. "She said she would do anything we wanted. Sign anything we wanted. I just thought you could use that to your advantage."

Crowley continued to regard his minion. Now, that was an interesting point. The King had been sitting here for the better part of a day making notes in files and signing proclamations, and he was bored stupid. Even if this came to nothing, it was at least a break in the monotony.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," he said to Hiram. "I'll overlook your poor showing this month. But if you don't make your quota next month, you'd better buy some swim trunks, because you'll be doing the breaststroke in the pit of boiling oil. Are we clear, Hiram?"

"Yes, Majesty," Hiram said, trembling.

Crowley snapped his fingers and popped himself up to the crossroads. "How do you do, Madam?" he said to her, taking her hand. She gaped at him. "Who are you?" Christina asked him.

"Let's just say I'm the Manager of the Sales Division," Crowley said pleasantly. "My underling came to see me because your special circumstances call out for my expertise."

Christina was confused. She was a fairly intelligent woman, but she had no idea what this man was talking about. He saw the expression on her face and smiled. "Begging your pardon, dear woman," he said, using his old-world manners. "I can see you're not well-versed in these matters. Don't worry, I'll walk you through it. But in any event, I will need to see your dearly departed. If you will give me your address, I can take you there."

"I have our car right here. I can drive us to my home. Or you can drive, if you prefer," Christina told him.

Crowley continued to smile. "Bad idea. The last thing I drove was a chariot, I believe. Much less powerful, in the horsepower department."

Christina stared at him. She knew who and what this man was, but he had disarmed her with his charm. Still, he was asking to come into her home.

"It's up to you, Christina," Crowley said softly. "But you'd best decide soon. The longer he is in his current condition, the harder it will be to revive him."

She panicked. There was no time to lose, then. They got into the car, and she drove them back to her house. Crowley was so seldom a passenger in an Earth vehicle that he was able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

He would normally have just teleported them there, but Crowley was an excellent reader of character, and he could read between the lines, here. Hubby had bitten off more than he could chew on one of his hunts. Probably riding solo, like most of these American cowboys seemed wont to do. He had staggered home, and before his horrified wife could react, he had died. Then she had likely remembered something her husband had said about the crossroads, and a deal, and here she was. Contrary to what many people thought, many a crossroads deal was cut on the teeth of love, as opposed to greed or selfishness. In fact, love was usually the strongest motivator of all.

They entered the house and Christina said, "Could you please speak quietly? I have a five-year-old boy upstairs, and a baby girl in the living room, in a crib. My husband is also in the living room, on the couch. Please follow me."

Crowley looked down at Jim's body dispassionately. Then he looked over at the crib. It was far enough away that he couldn't see into it, but all was mercifully quiet. Good. Crying babies were hardly his favourite thing. He looked at the corpse again, but for some odd reason, his gaze kept returning to the crib. Why?

He snapped his fingers, and the corpse disappeared. Christina gasped. Crowley looked at her. "Fear not, dear lady," he said softly. "Your husband is upstairs in your bedroom. I just needed a place to sit, while we chat." He moved his hand over the couch, cleaning the blood, and then he sat down.

"Does your husband keep liquor in the house?" Crowley asked optimistically.

"We have a bottle of rose wine in the fridge," Christina responded. She was confused again. Perhaps wine was needed for the ritual? After all, it figured prominently in the Catholic church.

Crowley made a face. "Alcohol, dear lady, not Kool-Aid," he said, as patiently as he could.

Christina thought for a moment. "I think Jim might have a bottle of scotch in the basement," she told him. "Would you like me to go check?"

Why would he have asked - Crowley took a deep breath. "Yes, please, my dear," he said sweetly.

Christina left the room and Crowley leaned back against the couch cushions, closing his eyes for a moment. Humans. They were so exhausting.

And that was when the baby started to fuss. She wasn't crying just yet, but it sounded like she might be warming up to it. Perhaps the child sensed that her mother had left the room. In any event, Crowley didn't want the baby to start wailing. Then the mother would be all fluttery, and then the young boy might wake up, and Crowley just didn't feel like dealing with that kind of scenario. Besides, he was curious about the child, although he couldn't say why.

He got up and walked over to the crib, looking down at the baby. Crowley had seen his share of infants due to his long, long existence, but this one was unusual. Big, dark eyes. Almost Demonlike, he thought with amusement. Had Christina been stepping out on her husband, visiting the dark side? Curious, he reached down and touched the baby's face, and the infant's tiny fist grabbed his finger. She stopped fussing immediately and just lay there, staring at him quietly.

Now the child really had his attention. Crowley didn't believe he'd ever seen a baby behave like that before. And then, he felt it. It started off as a low-grade hum, a tickle, really. Then it increased in intensity. The power emanating from that tiny little fist was making his thinning hair stand practically on end. What the bloody hell was this, now?

Suddenly, Crowley's mind's eye threw him back to the Garden, to the very beginning. He saw his brother Abel, a bloody knife, and then he heard a man's maniacal laughter, so loud and distinct that it sounded as if the laugher was right here in this room.

Crowley pulled away. He had never felt anything like that before, and deep down, it had uneased him a little. But mainly, he was intrigued. He might want the powers this baby possessed for his own. But not right now. Let someone else do the wet nursing and the nappy changing. Crowley was an eternal being; he could wait out the ten-year contract. Then, when the hellhounds came to claim both parents, because those were the terms he would put in the contract, Crowley would take baby Gail. He knew that was her name now, just from that momentary touch. And if she was this powerful now, he was practically salivating about her potential once she was 10 years of age.

So when Christina came upstairs with the bottle, Crowley had a drink. Then he produced the standard ten-year contract, made a few amendments, and had Christina sign it.

Then, a break with tradition: "Normally, we would ask you to seal the bargain with a kiss," Crowley said to Christina, "however, I can see that you are a respectable married woman. Therefore, I will give your beautiful baby a gentle kiss on the forehead to seal our contract." He moved over to the crib and leaned down. "See you in ten years, sweetheart," Crowley said to Gail. He kissed her on the forehead and then snapped himself upstairs to the master bedroom and revived Jim. Then, he was gone.

Jim never found out about the events of that night. He woke up in his own bed with blood on his shirt and a much more minor wound than he'd actually sustained. Christina informed him that he had come home, stumbled upstairs, and fallen unconscious. As his wound was minor, she told him, she had just let him rest.

So life went on as per usual for a while, and by the time Gail began to exhibit some of her special abilities, Christina was the only parent to really know about it. She didn't dare tell her husband about them at that time, nor about Crowley's visit that night. She had built their nice suburban lives on a house of cards that was due to come tumbling down in a decade.

Then the day finally came, and Crowley dispatched his minions to collect on the deal. The hellhounds had the mange, and since Jim was a Hunter with a teenage son who may or may not have been taught the craft, Crowley had sent several of his men to collect on the deal and to retrieve the child Gail. She would be 10 years old now; old enough to be tolerable, but young enough to be impressionable.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum, as the expression went. When his minions had gotten to the house, a third party had been there. Jim and Christina had been in the living room talking to a tall, dark-haired man. When the Demons had burst in the back door, the stranger had looked at the couple and smirked.

"Demons? Really?" Vincent had said, amused. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that, if you want to try to intimidate me."

"We didn't summon them! I'm a Hunter, you idiot!" Jim yelled at him. He was extremely confused. This man had just barged in here as if he owned the place, and now, the Demons were coming in the back door. Thank God he'd sent Frank and Gail downstairs to hide.

"Idiot?! You're the idiot!" Vincent shouted. "Goodbye, Hunter." He waved his hand and Jim fell dead, exploded from within. His blood spattered all over the walls and the living room furniture. The Demons stopped in their tracks. Who the hell was this guy? As far as they knew, only Crowley could do something like that. Or God, but this man certainly didn't look like God to them. He had made no effort to move away from the human when he had pulverized him, and as a result, he had the Hunter's blood on his face and his clothes. As Christina looked on in horror, Vincent wiped his face with one hand, regarded it, and then started sucking on his own fingers, as if enjoying the remnants of a particularly tasty chicken dinner.

"There was no need to do that to him!" Christina shrieked at Vincent. "None at all!"

Vincent shrugged. "You're probably right," he said calmly. Then he waved his hand again and killed her too, resulting in more splatters. He bent down and dipped his hand in Christina's blood, tasting it, too. "Why is it that women always taste so much better than men?" he asked the Demons with a self-satisfied smirk.

They were frozen in shock. They might be Demons, but they had never seen a guy that was this casually evil before. Not even their own King. Crowley's cruelty always had logic behind it, however twisted that logic may be.

Well, at least the hard job was done for them now. They hadn't even had to kill the parents. Their souls would be going to Hell, as per the contract. But, where was the kid?

"Where is she?" one of the Demons snarled.

Vincent looked at him, and then he started to laugh. For some reason, the sight of the Demon minions standing there with their mouths open in amazement had just tickled him. They looked like they were going to poop their pants. He threw his head back and laughed some more. It was this laugh that young Gail heard from the basement, and it scared her so much that she suppressed the memory for years and years afterwards.

Once Vincent's laughter subsided, he said, "I'll tell you what. I'll spare your pathetic little existences if you go back and tell your boss that he's going to have to work a lot harder than this, if he wants my daughter. And ask him if he's sure he wants to open up that can of worms. I wish him luck with that."

Then he clapped his hands together and disappeared. Vincent had wondered idly where those kids had gotten to. He presumed the parents had probably stashed them somewhere, to protect them from the Demons, or himself, or both. That had been a smart move on their part. But they hadn't been smart enough not to piss him off, had they? And now, those kids were technically orphans because of it. But that wasn't his problem. It just meant that young Frank would have to grow up a lot faster now. And he'd have to use all of his wits if he hoped to stay one step ahead of Crowley. Vincent shrugged. He didn't really care. There may come a time when Vincent's daughter Gail would be of interest to him, but that time was not now.

Crowley's Demons reported back to him about the events that had transpired at the house, and Crowley was completely gobsmacked. Who could that man have been? Actually, based on the awesome power he had demonstrated, "man" was probably a misnomer. Then Crowley started to think about the known entities who had that type of ability. Besides himself, of course. Knights of Hell, Archangels, God, and...Lucifer? He'd hurried down to the wing where the cage was, but thankfully, Lucifer was still there. Crowley had been mystified. Now he wanted that child more than ever. So he'd dispatched small groups of Demons to Earth to find her, and although there had been a few close calls throughout the years as Gail and Frank had grown to adulthood, they had always managed to stay one step ahead until the night that Gail had met the Winchesters for the first time.

Crowley sat back in his chair now, lost in thought. Oh yes, he knew more than he had told the Angels. But he still didn't know who or what Gail's father was, what he had been doing there at the house, and why he had so cruelly dispatched Frank's parents. Crowley'd eventually tried to tell Gail that his minions had not been responsible for the murders of Frank's parents, but she had not believed him. Understandable, really. Crowley had been taking credit for that particular dastardly deed for years, or at least, he had never disabused them of the notion that he had been to blame.

Maybe it was time to tell Gail what he knew. Or, maybe not. Perhaps he should wait to see how the election in Heaven turned out, first. If Castiel won, Crowley might have much bigger things to worry about. He poured himself another drink.

The party was in full swing now, and the booze was flowing. The adult human males were all getting very drunk, and Gail was bemused. In retrospect, she was glad that Dean had decided not to invite Nicole to this particular celebration. The last time Nicole attended a booze-fueled function with their group was Frank's wedding reception, and both Gail and Dean had acted like asses on that occasion. And she could see that things were probably headed in that direction again. She doubted that Nicole would appreciate the sight of all these drunken men at the bar, telling jokes that were getting increasingly risque in nature. But Dean had been dead for a week, and the others had been in mourning for him. They were entitled to blow off some steam. She and Cas had had a couple of drinks with them just to be sociable, but Cas had no interest in attempting to become intoxicated. He didn't need alcohol to feel a "high"; all he had to do to feel over the moon was to look at all the happy faces of his family and friends. He looked at Jody. Soon, she would be visibly pregnant, and then shortly after that, she and Frank would be welcoming a beautiful new baby into the family. What a glorious occasion that would be.

Jody wasn't looking too happy at the moment, though. Frank was belly-up to the bar with the Winchesters, and he had his arm around Rob's shoulders. They were telling the boy some "war stories" about their exploits on the road, and while the conversation was not exactly X-rated, it was definitely leaning on the wrong side of PG-17. And, Saints be praised, Rob was holding a bottle of beer now. She'd better put the kibosh on this, before it got out of hand.

"So, Rob, once you start school, give me a call if you need any help with the ladies," Dean was saying. "I'm your resident expert, when it comes to chicks."

"Excuse me, he's got lots of other role models here, too," Sam objected.

Dean smirked. "Yeah, right. He's staying with two gay guys, and his dad married the only woman in the known universe who's able to tolerate him. And don't even get me started about Cas. You've heard of the 40-year-old-virgin? Well, he's the 40-million-year-old virgin."

"Hey!" Gail protested.

"Well, it's true," Dean insisted. "Please. Gimme a break. I took Cas to a whorehouse one time, and I couldn't even get him laid there!"

"Really?!" Gail exclaimed, and Cas's heart sank. What Dean had said was actually true, but it was years before he'd even met Gail. And once Cas had realized what kind of place it was, he'd been horrified. But nothing had happened, of course. He'd just never mentioned it to Gail because he hadn't wanted her to get the wrong impression.

Gail's eyebrows had risen so high that they were threatening to leave her face altogether. "Now you've done it," Sam said, elbowing Dean. "Cas is sooo in the doghouse."

"He might not even get to stay in the doghouse," Gail remarked coolly. "He might just have to lay on top of it for a while, like Snoopy."

As everyone laughed, Cas started to stammer. "You know that nothing - you know I would never - I didn't - "

Frank was laughing now. He looked at Dean. "Man, are you living dangerously. You just came back to life, and now Cas is gonna kill you."

"He's going to have to take a number," Gail said darkly.

"Oh, give me a break, Gail," Dean retorted. "This was way before you guys even met."

"Yes, it was, but absolutely nothing happened, and there was absolutely no need to mention it," Cas said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, man," Dean said to Cas, giving him a sheepish look.

"Give us a call if you need a place to hide - I mean, stay," Sam said, grinning at Cas.

"OK, that's it," Jody said. She strode forward and grabbed Rob by the arm, wrestling the beer bottle out of his hand. "You and I are coming back to the house, and we're gonna have a little talk," she said to the boy. She looked at Frank. "Stay here and have some fun. I'll see you when you get home." She kissed him on the cheek, then looked at Barry and Tommy. "I'll keep Rob tonight, and then he can come back with you in the morning. We're gonna have a chat about the way we view women in our family." Then she looked at the other Angels. "Who wants to take us home?"

"I will," Becky said. "I was going to call it a night, anyway." She looked at Dean. "I'm glad you're OK, Dean."

"Thanks, Becky," Dean said, and then he looked at Sam. "I like her, Sammy. Too bad you two crazy kids couldn't make it work."

Sam elbowed him again, a lot harder this time. "I'm sorry, Becky," Sam said, embarrassed. "Dean's drunk."

"I know, Sam. That's OK," Becky said, but she was fuming. So, Dean thought her feelings for his brother were an object of ridicule, did he? Well, they'd see who was laughing when she got a hold of that love potion. But first, she'd have to get that assignment on Earth, and she thought she just might have the right person in Heaven to talk to about that.

After Becky winked Jody and Rob away, the other Angels said their goodbyes as well, and they went back up to Heaven. That left just Barry, Tommy, Frank, Sam, Dean, Cas, and Gail.

"Great. Just the men left, now," Dean said happily. "Set 'em up, Tommy."

Gail cleared her throat, and Dean eyed her. "Ahhhh, you know what I mean," he said. "You're like one of the guys, anyway."

"No, she's not. I can assure you of that," Cas said, smiling. He put his arms around her from behind, cuddling her.

"Just think, one of you could be God, soon," Barry said to the Angels. "I can't even wrap my head around that."

"I know, right?" Gail said. "But it could also be Patricia, or Bobby. We'll just have to wait and see. It won't be for a while, yet. But just between us, I really hope it's not Patricia."

"Why? What's her problem?" Dean asked.

Cas frowned. "I honestly don't know, Dean. She's a longer-serving Angel, and there's still a faction of what you might call 'old-school' thinking in Heaven. Some of those individuals supported the Archangels back in the time of the Angel Wars, when they were talking about annexing Earth. I'm not saying that Patricia's stance is quite that radical, but when I spoke to her a while ago, she was talking about cancelling all of the assignments to Earth."

"What? What do you mean?!" Frank exclaimed. "So you wouldn't be coming to Earth anymore?"

"I don't think it would come to that, Frank," Cas replied. "I believe she's talking about no NEW assignments. But still, I completely disagree with that philosophy. If I've learned anything during my time here, it's that we can do a lot of good for people here on Earth. It's what we SHOULD be doing. Not fighting and killing."

"Is that your platform, too?" Sam asked Gail. "More loving, less fighting?"

She smiled. "Are you talking about me and Cas now? 'Cause I can assure you, that's always been our philosophy. And as for Patricia, when we were up there with Gabriel, he said all she needs is a good snuggle. And I tend to agree."

The men laughed, and Dean said, "Did he really say 'snuggle'?" Gail nodded vigorously. "That's pretty funny," Dean added.

"Well, he was speaking in the presence of a lady," Gail said, smirking.

"Yeah, Dean. Weren't you listening? Patricia was there," Frank wisecracked.

"Oh, har, har. OK, losers, Cas and I are out of here," Gail said. "We'll make sure to pop into the bunker nice and early, and make lots of noise." She looked at her brother. "Hopefully, Jody will have kicked you out, so we can get you, too."

"I'm gonna start cranking out those 'Cas For God' bumper stickers tomorrow," Frank quipped.

Gail grabbed him and gave him a big, smacking kiss. Then she did the same with all the other men, saving Dean for last. "I'm really glad you're back," Gail said to him. "Our lives sucked without you."

Dean smiled. "Next time I have a funeral, put that on my tombstone," he told her.

"Oh, no, I'm not going through that again," she said, shaking her head. "You're gonna live forever. I have spoken."

"It won't be forever, but it should be longer than many others," Cas piped up. "Sam, too."

They all turned to look at him. "Uh...what?" Dean said.

"You and Sam will age much more slowly, because you have partaken of the waters in the Garden," Cas replied. "It has special properties, not unlike the Fountain of Youth in your legends. If the two of you die of natural causes, it will probably be at a much more advanced age than most humans."

The brothers looked at each other. Really? It was just like Cas not to have mentioned this before. When you were already an eternal being, they guessed it didn't occur to you that these kinds of things might be good to know.

"Ahhhh, I wouldn't worry about it," Frank said. "There's no way you guys are dying of natural causes."

As the brothers invited Frank to do something to himself that was anatomically impossible and Barry and Tommy laughed, Cas and Gail linked hands and popped themselves home.

Bobby knocked softly on Patricia's door. "Surprise," he said.

She looked up from the file she'd been reading. "Bobby? Bobby! Is that really you?"

"Yes, it is," he said, entering her office. "I hope I didn't startle you too badly. I just wanted to let you know that I'm back."

"What happened?" she asked him.

"I had a heart attack," he told her matter-of-factly, sinking into the chair opposite her desk.

"Oh, Bobby. I'm so sorry," Patricia said softly.

"I'm not," Bobby told her. "I'm actually glad to be back. Earth isn't my home anymore."

"Well, quite frankly, I'm glad to hear you say that," Patricia said stiffly. "Leave Earth to the humans. I'm running on a 'Heaven First' platform."

"That's what I'm here to talk to you about, Pat," Bobby said, but she interrupted him: "Patricia."

"Beg pardon?" Bobby said, his forehead wrinkling.

"My name is Patricia," she said, with a bit of an edge to her voice. "I know that you've been on Earth for an extended period of time, but I don't appreciate the familiarity."

"Oh." Bobby was a little surprised. He had called her by the short form of her name when they'd had those couple of dates, and she hadn't seemed to mind so much then. But Cas was saying that she had changed, and that was what Bobby was here to find out for himself.

"Anyway, I came here to tell you that I just filed the papers," Bobby continued. "I'll be running in the election."

Patricia's eyebrows rose. "You?!" she exclaimed. "But...you resigned the position, when you had it!"

"I know, and that was a mistake," Bobby told her. "I should never have done that. There are a lot of things I regret, Patricia. But now, I have the chance for a do-over. If I win the election, there are gonna be a lot of improvements made around here. Now that Lucifer's gone, I think we should make more of an effort to reach out to humans. Cas and Gail had the right idea. If we had more of a presence on Earth, Lucifer might not have had nearly as many human followers, and probably, a lot more people would be alive today."

Patricia looked at him sharply, but she said nothing for the moment. Reach out to humans? Had he not just agreed that Earth was no place to call home? He really hadn't, of course, but that was how Patricia's twisted mind had interpreted it. "I completely disagree," she said to Bobby. "If those humans were stupid enough to follow Lucifer in the first place, they deserved everything that happened to them."

Bobby looked at her incredulously. "I'm talking about the innocent victims, Pat. The ones that were killed by those death squads."

Patricia gritted her teeth. "It's Patricia. And as far as I'm concerned, none of those people were innocent. They were only humans, Bobby. They can just rut and make some more. That's what humans do. They're just like cockroaches. The Archangels had the right idea."

Bobby was floored. Cas had been absolutely right about her. This was bad. "What happened to you, Patricia?" he said, dazed.

"What happened to me?" she repeated. "You happened to me. Castiel and Gail happened to me." She leaned forward in her chair. "Lucifer happened to me. You go ahead and run for the Office, Bobby. Run on a program of permissiveness, and so-called charity. You had the Office, and you abandoned it. You abandoned me. I'll make sure to remind the Angels of that. How you abandoned them, just when they needed a leader the most. Maybe your friend Castiel should win. Then we can all look forward to an administration filled with torture, and blood, and death. Or, maybe that little tramp Gail should take the most Sacred Office. Then we can have everyone shirking their duties, burning the Holy Commandments, and doing whatever they damn well please. If you want to talk to God, you'd better make an appointment. Otherwise, you're liable to walk in there and find her and Castiel, having sex on our Father's desk!" Patricia let out a loud sob. Suddenly, she was back in that Office, alone with Lucifer, and he was bending her over that same desk, and hurting her. The very first thing that she was going to do upon winning the election was to set fire to that desk. In fact, she might just snap her fingers and blast the entire room out of existence. Then, she could redesign the Office however she saw fit. But no matter what she did in that regard, she could never erase the memories of what had happened to her there.

"What's the matter, Patricia? What's wrong?" Bobby asked her, alarmed. "Why are you like this now? Talk to me. We're all friends here, aren't we?"

"Friends? I have no friends," Patricia said angrily. "Now, get out of my office. The deadline to announce candidacy is tomorrow. If there are no others on the slate, my official campaign starts tomorrow. I was really hoping you would support my platform, Bobby. But now, I can see that you're just like the others. Oh well, no matter. You're an alcoholic, and a deserter. Castiel is a violent brute, with a long history of selfish deeds on his resume. And Gail is a slut, with proven ties to the King of Hell. I wish you all luck, Bobby. You're going to need it."

Bobby backed out of her office, shocked by what she was saying. This was bad. Really bad. If Patricia meant even half of what she was saying, let alone what she wasn't saying, this election was gonna get really dirty. And the hell of it was, she wasn't really wrong in anything she had said. It was all in the way you looked at it. Bobby had quit, and he had been drinking quite a bit on Earth recently. Cas did have a violent history, and Gail had associated with the King of Hell.

"Balls," Bobby said softly, as he walked home to his cabin.

"I think we're ready to test the latest formula," Dr. Exeter was saying to his bosses. Generals Greene, Sizemore, and Tanaka were standing in the laboratory, watching as the technicians were cleaning up for the night.

"What makes you say that?" Adrian asked him.

The head of the Experimental team pointed to one corner of the room, where one of the lab assistants was preparing to sweep something up off of the floor with a broom and a dustpan.

General Sizemore peered closer. "Is that what it looks like?"

"Snow," Dr. Exeter said, nodding. "Once we mixed the new compound, the technician accidentally spilled a couple of drops, and it started to snow in the corner, right there. It only lasted less than a minute, but then again, it was only a couple of drops that were spilled. I'm looking forward to see what we can create with a full sampling."

The Generals began to smile.

\- END OF BOOK 26. -


End file.
